Newberg High School

A 17-year-old boy is in custody after police say he planned to launch a large-scale attack on students and faculty at Newberg High School in Yamhill County.

(Photo courtesy of M.O. Stevens)

A Newberg High School student detailed his growing obsession with shooting up his school and planned to "personally kill at least 100 people" in a large-scale attack, police said Tuesday.

The 17-year-old boy listed 20 student and faculty targets in a journal, according to a probable cause affidavit released by the Newberg-Dundee Police Department. The journal included a crude but detailed campus map that indicated where bombs would be placed, gates would be chain-locked and plans to isolate people in a "kill zone."

Police arrested the teen and one other student March 3, the same day school district officials became aware of the potential attack, Capt. Jeff Kosmicki said in a prepared statement Tuesday.

The journal contained a chilling to-do list, including plans to first "take out" the school resource officer, as well as acquire guns, masks, bombs, knives, chains, locks and "lots of ammo," the affidavit said. He also tried to access a safe where his mother kept a firearm and obtain weapons from other people, the police document showed.

He initially planned to launch the attack on the last day of school, the affidavit said, but changed his mind after realizing that many students would not be on campus. He set a 70-day timetable to ensure the "most number of students would still be at school."

Investigators talked to about 30 students, teachers and counselors, Kosmicki said. "We take the safety and security of our schools very seriously, and no one has a right to threaten that safety," he said.

The 17-year-old is being held at the Yamhill County Juvenile Detention Facility on accusations of attempted assault and attempted unlawful use of a weapon, District Attorney Brad Berry said Tuesday afternoon. The Oregonian/OregonLive is not identifying him because he is minor.

The other student could not be tied to the threat and was not charged, he said.

The school draws its 1,445 students from the cities of Newberg and Dundee, and parts of rural Yamhill, Clackamas and Washington counties.

Claudia Stewart, Newberg Public Schools communications coordinator, could not comment on specifics of Tuesday's developments, citing the ongoing investigation.

"Because the police and the DA's office have released this information, we are now working to follow-up with parents and staff," she said Tuesday.

"The school district will begin disciplinary action as soon as the students are released from custody."

-- Tony Hernandez

thernandez@oregonian.com

503-294-5928

@tonyhreports