Armed suspects at Macon County school had plan to kill

FRANKLIN — Macon County Sheriff Robert Holland says two heavily armed suspects taken into custody Thursday morning on the campus of South Macon Elementary School intended to shoot students and staff "if it was God's will."

In a press conference Friday, Holland said that frightening scenario possibly was averted by a school bus driver, Alice Bradley, who intervened as the suspects were headed toward a bus.

Officers arrested Adam Conley, 38, and Kathryn Jeter, 29, both of Franklin, on multiple charges. The sheriff said Conley pulled a gun on a responding deputy and had to be tased three times before officers could subdue him. In addition to a pistol in his hand, Conley was armed with two handguns in a holster, Holland said.

Jeter also was tased as she tried to grab a fourth handgun that was on the ground nearby, Holland said.

"The reality of what could have happened is very frightening to all of us," Holland said. "We are very blessed. This could have been a much different outcome."

A fifth loaded pistol was found inside a school bus.

"One of the individuals made the statement that if it was God's will to shoot children and teachers, and if the other suspect wanted the suspect to do so, they would have proceeded to start shooting children and teachers," Holland said.

Officers found a cat that had been shot and stabbed to death by the suspects, who told authorities they killed the animal because it was "defective," Holland said. The cat frequented the campus and was well-known to students.

He said the suspects appeared to be under the influence of some kind of drug.

"It's apparent they were on something, some kind of substance," Holland said.

Conley and Jeter each was charged with attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, felony cruelty to animals and multiple charges of possessing weapons on educational property. The suspects are being held at the Macon County Jail under a $1 million bond each.

Deputies executed a search warrant Thursday evening at the suspects' home nearby on Carl Henson Road and found more guns and ammunition, Holland said.

The series of events at the school began shortly after 5:15 a.m. Bradley, the bus driver, was walking through the bus parking lot when the suspects charged her, Holland said. She managed to get away from them and went to her car, then drove toward the suspects as they were headed toward her bus, which was running. She had cranked the bus a few minutes earlier to let it warm up and had gone inside the school, not noticing when she did so that the suspects apparently had already been on it early that night and had left a pistol inside. Bradley drove toward the suspects as if she were going to run over them, causing them to head the other way, Holland said.

"We are proud of her and the actions she took," Holland said. "They were heading toward her bus again, but they went the other way, which changed the events that occurred from that point forward. I believe, and my staff believes, that created a great difference in what could have happened. The bus driver determined it was in everyone's best interest for them not to get on that bus. She didn't know if they were going to steal the bus or what the situation was."

The driver reported the incident to the school bus garage, and authorities there called the Sheriff's Office.

Deputies arrived a few minutes later and managed to take the suspects into custody. Officers later discovered the pistol inside Bradley's bus.

The school was officially closed for the day, but some students who couldn't get home, along with staff, remained, system Superintendent Chris Baldwin said.

Holland said the investigation is continuing and more charges are possible.