Two fifth graders 'plotted to kill a girl at their school and attack six others but tried to keep it a secret by bribing another kid $80 not to tell'

The boys, 10 and 11, wanted to the kill the girl because she was 'annoying'

But a pupil reported to a teacher that one of the boys was carrying a knife

The teacher found the knife and a .45 calibre handgun in his friend's bag

Courts will decide whether the pupils can be held criminally responsible

The boys are charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder



Two pupils aged 10 and 11 have been charged with plotting to kill a girl at their school and bribing another student to keep quiet about it after a handgun was found in one of their backpacks.

The boys, who were hoping to lure the girl outside the school and kill her because she was 'really annoying', have also confessed to planning to attack six other pupils.

They paid another student, who found out about the plot at Fort Colville Elementary School, $80 to keep it a secret.



Stunned: Fort Colville Elementary School in Colville, Washington, where a plot by two fifth grade pupils to kill another student because she was 'really annoying' has been uncovered

The case has stunned the small U.S. town of Colville in Washington, where Stevens County prosecuting attorney, Timothy Rasmussen, will argue that the defendants should be held criminally responsible on charges of conspiracy to commit murder in the first-degree and witness tampering.

Mr Rasmussen told the Los Angeles Times yesterday: 'This was a plan. And it was a plan to kill.'

He added: 'To me, 10 and 11-year-olds do bad things. They throw rocks through windows. They shoot BB guns at people's cars. They hit people with sticks, they set a cat on fire. Those are things that children do. But this was a plot to kill.'

An affidavit shows that shortly before 8am on February 7th a fourth grade pupil at told a teacher that he had seen an 11-year-old boy with a knife.

The teacher searched backpacks belonging to the boy and his friend, 10, and found weapons including a knife with a three-and-a-quarter inch blade, a .45 calibre Remington 1911 semiautomatic handgun and an ammunition clip.

The boys confessed when they were questioned separately, with the older boy admitting he was going to kill the girl with the knife while his friend used the gun to keep people from stopping him.

Weapon: A .45 calibre Remington handgun (library image) was found in the 10-year-old pupil's backpack

He also pointed out six other targets on a class list shown to him by detectives, and said he had been friends with the girl but he 'hated her now' because she had 'become rude' and picked on him.

Parents in the town expressed gratitude to teachers for being alert and foiling the plot before tragedy struck, at a public meeting. One asked whether they should be provided with guns in the classroom.



Mr Rasmussen said children younger than eight are considered incapable of committing criminal acts in the state.

Those between eight and 12 are also considered incapable, but the law calls for it to be determined at a hearing - which will be held on February 20th.