UNITED STATES: A Californian community college student has been accused of planning a “Columbine-style” attack, after police found dozens of pipe bombs, Molotov cocktails and other weapons in his room.
Al DeGuzman, 19, has been charged with 30 counts of possession of an explosive device, 20 counts of possession of a firebomb, and two counts of possession of an illegal weapon - a sawn-off shotgun and a rifle.
Police closed De Anza College last Tuesday, believing DeGuzman planned to blow it up. “This was an elaborate plan for a mass murder,” said San Jose’s deputy police cief, Mike Miceli.
Along with 60 explosive devices, police found diagrams and notes indicating DeGuzman would start planting bombs at 4.30am last Tuesday and launch his attack at 12.30pm in the college’s cafeteria.
They also found an audio tape recording in which DeGuzman sympathised with two teenage gunmen who killed 13 people and themselves at Colorado’s Columbine High School in April 1999. Police said the recording included apologies to his parents, friends and the news media.
“The tape recording was just bone-chilling,” said Chief Miceli.
May Wong