A plan to carry out a Columbine-style shooting at Belvidere High School in June was foiled this week after the town police chief took his suspicions to federal authorities.



Now the FBI and New Jersey State Police are looking at four young adults and six juveniles implicated in a plan that had reached the stage of surveilling school security officers and mapping escape routes after the attack, state police spokesman Al Della Fave said.

"This is a great example in this day and age of how important awareness is," Della Fave said today. "This (school) administrator took a little bit of information and gave it to the right people and averted a real tragedy."

Authorities could provide no motive behind the alleged plot.As of tonight, Della Fave said just one person had been charged. James M Shipps, 22, of Water Street, Belvidere, is charged with making terroristic threats, false public alarm and hindering apprehension. He was sent to Warren County jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Della Fave said various homes were searched in Belvidere and White Township.

Belvidere School District Superintendent Dirk Swaneveld said he was told Friday that some staff and students were concerned about a male student involved in a "potential organized threat to the school."

"Our staff and even a couple of our students provided us with information that would lead us to be concerned," he said.

Belvidere police Chief Kent Sweigert received a call Sunday night from school officials. He met with school officials the next morning to discuss concerns they had about a student.

The 17-year-old White Township boy was coming to school dressed in military clothing and boots and making statements about attacking the school, Sweigert said.

Sweigert said school officials had been monitoring the 17-year-old and noticed a sudden change in his behavior. That's when they contacted police, he said.

The chief spoke to the boy's father Monday and transported the juvenile to Warren Hospital for a mental-health evaluation.

The boy was admitted to the hospital Monday. Authorities there recommended his commitment to a mental health facility at St. Clare's hospital, officials said.

"The father of the juvenile was tremendously cooperative," Della Fave said.

Heightened security is in place at the school, Sweigert said.

Swaneveld said he stayed in touch with law enforcement officials throughout the day Monday and Tuesday. The district also brought in substitute teachers to help watch the halls and doors, he said.

"There's no threat to our students, and there's been continued police coverage at the school," Swaneveld said.