Fair Haven shooting threat: 'By the grace of God' Vermont avoided disaster

RUTLAND - An 18-year-old Poultney man pleaded not guilty Friday afternoon to charges including attempted murder in connection with the threat of a mass shooting at Fair Haven Union High School.

Police said former student Jack Sawyer indicated he wanted to cause "mass casualties" at the Rutland County school of about 400 students in ninth through 12th grades in an attack he had been planning for two years.

Sawyer detailed his plot in a journal he titled "Diary of an Active Shooter," Vermont State Police Maj. Glenn Hall said during a Montpelier news conference Friday afternoon.

Law enforcement and Vermont Gov. Phil Scott credited a tip to the authorities for preventing carnage at Fair Haven Union just days after 17 people were killed in an attack at a high school in Parkland, Florida. In a message to a friend, Sawyer called the massacre "fantastic" and said he supported the killing "100%," according to police.

"Only by the grace of God and the courage of a young woman who spoke up did we avert a horrific outcome," Scott said. He added that he was "jolted" by details of the case, as described in a sworn police description of events called an affidavit.

RELATED: After Fair Haven threat, Gov. Scott wants to talk about guns

That 13-page document was made public following Sawyer's arraignment Friday afternoon at Vermont Superior Court in Rutland, during which his lawyer pleaded not guilty on his behalf.

Sawyer, who hardly spoke during the brief court proceeding, was ordered held without bail.

Prosecutors charged him with two counts of attempted aggravated murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder and one count of attempted aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The charges state Sawyer recently purchased a 12-gauge shotgun and ammunition, and specifically intended to kill multiple students and the school resource officer.

Sawyer faces up to life in prison if convicted of the felony charges.

Addressing the state Friday afternoon from his Montpelier office, and streamed live on his Facebook page, Scott called for an "open and honest and fact-based discussion" about mental-health needs and why so many students slip though the cracks. Scott also said he wants all sides of the gun-rights debate to come together to discuss child safety.

"I know these conversations will be passionate, and solutions are not easy," Scott said, while reiterating his support for the Second Amendment. "Focus on the root causes."

Scott was joined by Vermont State Police Col. Matthew Birmingham, Maj. Hall and other state public-safety and education officials.

"Nothing was a result of Florida," Scott said, responding to a question about whether the mass shooting in Parkland influenced Sawyer.

Parents said the incident left them shaken.

"It's great that everything worked out and that no one got hurt," said Carl Stacey of Hubbardton, who has a child at the school. "It just messed up thinking about all of it, about what might have happened."

THE AFFIDAVIT

The following outline of the case appears in the sworn affidavit, written by state police Detective Sgt. Todd Wilkins:

A tip came Monday to Fair Haven police Detective Shaun Hewitt from a young woman who was friends with Sawyer and reported his "demeanor seemed strange." Hewitt also learned from the young woman that Sawyer had made previous threats against the high school; had purchased the shotgun from Dick's Sporting Goods in Rutland; and recently had left a treatment facility in Maine.

The sporting goods store confirmed Sawyer bought a Maverick model 88 Security 12-gauge pump shotgun on Tuesday, and separately purchased four boxes of buckshot ammunition.

David Sawyer, the suspect's father, told police Wednesday that Sawyer returned from Ironwood, a center for troubled teenagers in Maine, to get a job. At Ironwood, Sawyer was treated for Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder and depression, according to the father.

"David advised Sawyer seemed quite normal since his return to Vermont," Wilkins wrote.

Wednesday night, Fair Haven police said they investigated a tip involving violence against Fair Haven Union and responded by restricting access to the high school and sending sports teams returning from away games to other locations rather than back to school.

Chief William Humphries said in a statement that night that police located "all parties" involved "and were unable to substantiate any threat against the school." But, the chief added, the inquiry would continue.

The next day, Thursday, the investigation intensified when Deputy Even Traudt of the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office in Poughkeepsie, New York, contacted Fair Haven police to report that a female New York student had received messages threatening the Fair Haven school.

In Facebook messages attributed to Sawyer, he wrote about the contradiction in his life of trying to start fresh when "just a few days ago I was still plotting on shooting up my old high school."

The female student, who was not identified in the affidavit, urged Sawyer not to make "impulsive decisions."

"I wouldn't consider them necessarily impulsive because it's been the plan for like 2 years," Sawyer replied. He wrote that was tired of dealing with life's problems, like a lousy job, "so it's like why not end it a lil early. But oh well, I'll manage."

The discussion turned to the shooting in Parkland, Florida, which Sawyer described as "natural selection taken up a notch."

"That's fantastic. 100% support it," Sawyer wrote regarding the incident in which 17 students, teachers and staff were killed.

In the messages he indicated he was living out of his car, was hungry and had stopped taking medication.

After reading the texts, state police detained Sawyer.

In an extensive interview with police, Sawyer admitted to a fascination with the April 20, 1999, Columbine High School shooting in Colorado: He had read about it, and had used it as a model for his detailed plans.

Sawyer's fixation on killing his classmates led him to try to contact a student who attended the Parkland high school, "because he wanted to know how it made her feel and what it felt like being inside the school."

The suspect's preparations, police said, included making a kill list that began with plans to shoot school resource officer Scott Alkinburgh "before he can kill me or stop me," Sawyer wrote in his journal.

Others on Sawyer's "Top of the should have died list" were current and former Fair Haven Union High School students.

Sawyer told police he "intended to follow through with his plan no matter what." Dates he considered for the attack included March 14 and April 20, to mark the Columbine massacre anniversary, police said.

Investigators said Sawyer told them his attack "may not be next week, next month or even next year, but eventually he will carry out his plan."

Sawyer was being held at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland.

The investigation is continuing with help from the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. State police are seeking to speak with anyone who was in contact with Sawyer in recent weeks.

Lawyers said Sawyer is due back in court next week for a hearing about whether he should remain in custody.

STATISTICS

Since the start of the year, 180 children under 17 have died in gun-related incidents, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The archive is a nonprofit that collects and checks data on gun violence.

BROADER CONCERNS

Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, in response to the recent mass school shooting in Florida, called for Vermont legislators to more urgently address gun-safety laws.

"Even modest steps towards common-sense gun safety at the local level, which had the support of a huge majority of Burlington voters, have been blocked," Weinberger said in a statement Friday. "Vermonters have long been leaders on the moral questions of our times. We must lead on common-sense gun safety as well.”

Superintendent Yaw Obeng wrote a message to parents Thursday following the school shooting in Florida to reassure them that the administration continues to work to make safety in Burlington public schools a priority.

"Our safety teams did spend additional time looking through them today and identifying any soft spots," Obeng said regarding safety protocols and listed the following:

The district has monitoring practices and a safety dialog with Burlington Police Department and district representatives meet with them regularly.

Teachers and staff are trained in reporting threatening behavior.

Students identified as having maladaptive behaviors and social emotional challenges are referred to social agency for monitoring and support.

Contact Nicole Higgins DeSmet ndesmet@freepressmedia.com or 802-660-1845. Follow her on Twitter @NicoleHDeSmet

Contributing: Joel Banner Baird, Ryan Mercer, Elizabeth Murray and Adam Silverman of the Burlington Free Press.