He had a shotgun, a map and a code for his friends. What stopped a potential Wisconsin school shooting?

As students streamed out of Wauwatosa East High School during a drill last fall, one freshman had a thought.

How easy it would be to kill people exiting the building.

He shared his thoughts with others.

How he had a shotgun.

How he would text his friends to stay home.

How he had marked a floor plan of the school with arrows and symbols.

How he would call in a bomb threat and shoot students as they ran outside.

In late January, he told classmates he wanted to shoot up the school and commit suicide.

Two days later, after a shooting at a Kentucky high school left two dead and 21 others hurt, those classmates in Wauwatosa came forward to police.

The freshman was taken into custody; Wauwatosa school officials told East High School parents about the situation the same day.

Now, as the Wauwatosa School Board urges state lawmakers to do more on school safety, newly released police records provide insight into what happened in January.

The reports detail how the district and police responded to the situation — and give an unusual glimpse into the mind of a teen contemplating a school shooting.

'I would take you out first'

The two classmates reported what they had heard to the school's principal, Nick Hughes, on Jan. 24.

The principal immediately contacted Wauwatosa police. The classmates said they had come forward because of the school shooting in Kentucky.

Then they told the school resource officer, James Morrill, about what they had heard and seen of their fellow student's plans. The freshman, then 14, spoke of being depressed and having the shotgun, map and ideas, they said.

Other school officials confirmed to police the same student had expressed thoughts of suicide in the past.

The Journal Sentinel is not naming the teen because he is a juvenile and has not been charged in adult court. His name was blacked out in police reports.

Police searched the freshman's locker and did not find any weapons. They took the freshman into custody. He had never been arrested before.

In an interview with police, he said he hated himself. He said he would like to hurt others, but was held back by the consequences: jail, no more video games and losing friends.

Yes, he had talked of shooting students as they evacuated the building, he told police.

“No offense to you, but I know that you sit in your office at lunch and I would take you out first," he told the officer interviewing him.

He said he considered shooting people at lunch, when there would be a mass of students.

He admitted to using a school-issued floor plan to plot where he would place bombs or smoke devices.

He was confident he could get access to a shotgun his family used for trap shooting. The ammunition might be a problem, he said. He was not old enough to buy it.

He thought if he didn't kill himself afterward, he would flee, try to hide the evidence and disguise himself with a different haircut.

Still, when the officers asked, he said there was nothing at the moment that would make him kill people.

“He is 99% sure he would not carry out his plan but very much enjoys thinking about it,” the officer wrote in a report.

Open investigation

As some officers interviewed the freshman, others went to his house and took away two shotguns for safekeeping.

His father told police he had purchased the guns two months earlier at a Black Friday sale so his sons could use them for the high school Trap Shooting Club.

One student, later interviewed by police, believed the freshman's comments were "a joke that went too far." Others said they knew him to use "dark humor" but grew more concerned as time went on.

The mandatory notification to high school staff, students and parents had caused "widespread concern" and "an ongoing disturbance," according to the police report.

Wauwatosa police filed the report as a disorderly conduct offense and took the student to the Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex.

He remained there less than a day.

Police also referred the matter to the Milwaukee County district attorney's office.

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The case is open and under review, Chief Deputy District Attorney Kent Lovern said in an email this week.

"Because of the age of the offender, the Wisconsin statutes regarding confidentiality do not permit me to provide additional information to you at this time," he said.

In a statement, the school district said East High School administrators followed the emergency response plan and contacted police, who determined there was no immediate danger to staff or students.

The student is no longer enrolled in the Wauwatosa School District, officials said.

"Due to the open investigation, as well as state and federal student privacy laws, we were and are limited in what we can share," according to the statement provided by Keller Russell, the school district's spokeswoman.

"We can assure families every step legally available was taken by both the District and Wauwatosa Police Department to protect our students and staff," the statement read.

Asked if the student's new school had been notified of his history, Russell said she could not speak about a specific case. In general, any information shared with another school or district is done "in accordance with relevant legal guidelines," she said.

Although each school threat has different circumstances, this case stood out because of the specific details the student gave investigators, Wauwatosa Police Capt. Brian Zalewski said.

"Was this going to happen? Nobody can say for sure," he said. "But what we do know is because of the information obtained, a full investigation took place and a potential incident was stopped before it occurred."

Zalewski urged students to tell an adult if they see threats online, even if it seems to be a joke, and asked parents to inform school district officials or law enforcement about any threats.

"All too often in the incidents that have occurred, once the investigation is complete it comes out that somebody knew something before it happened," he said. "Either it wasn't reported or someone didn't follow up properly."

'Dangerous gaps' in system

The situation at East — which occurred weeks before a student opened fire inside a school in Parkland, Fla., and killed 17 people — has prompted the Wauwatosa School Board to ask state lawmakers for another special session on school safety.

On March 26, Gov. Scott Walker signed a $100 million plan that would tighten school security but not put new limits on guns. The legislation provides schools with grants for building improvements and staff training under the oversight of Attorney General Brad Schimel.

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The governor approved the measure two days after marchers nationally — including thousands in Madison and Milwaukee — demonstrated to demand gun control.

The same day Walker signed off on the plan, the Wauwatosa School Board unanimously approved a resolution calling for more specific action.

“The bill approved this week is a start, but it’s too soft on school shooter threats, too narrow in scope, and not urgent or serious enough to address the danger," School Board President Shawn Rolland said in a news release.

"A person who threatens to shoot up a school can still walk our streets after a slap-on-the-wrist 72-hour detention,” he said.

A person admitted to the Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex on an emergency detention can be held up to 72 hours or released sooner, depending on an evaluation. A court hearing is required for patients held for more than 72 hours.

The School Board is urging state lawmakers to approve a bill to allow prosecutors to issue a felony charge against anyone who spreads threats or false information about an attempt to use a weapon to hurt or kill someone on school property.

Among a slate of proposals, the School Board also is calling for more mental health funding for schools, universal background checks for gun purchases, an assault weapons ban and waiting periods for gun purchases.

“Anyone who credibly threatens to kill someone with a deadly weapon on school property should be charged with a felony and taken into custody," Rolland said.

"Wisconsin’s school safety system has dangerous gaps and our state leaders are the only ones who can close them.”

Legislators have ended their session for the year and said they do not plan to take up any legislation until January, after the November elections have been held.