High Schoolers started GoFundMe account geared toward school shooting

Two teens allegedly conspired to use crowdfunding site for lethal deed

Feb 27, 2018

Less than two weeks after a tragic Florida school massacre took the lives of 17, two Arizona students started a GoFundMe page to actually raise money for a school shooting.

The crowdfunding website confirmed in a press release to Law & Crime that two Combs High School students worked together to set up the page. One of the students, a 15-year-old, allegedly said he would file the serial numbers off of a gun and take it to school for a mass shooting. Meanwhile, his friend friend helped him set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for ammunition.

The page, which has since been taken down, reportedly complained that ammunition was expensive and asked for help to get the shooting underway.

Authorities Notified

But Pinal County deputies were alerted to the situation when a third student overheard the two students talking about the money they needed for ammo and the idea of bringing a gun to school. According to the police, the second student had access to weapons at home.

Both students were arrested and charged with interference or disruption of an educational institution and conspiracy to commit terrorism.

GoFundMe said in a statement that it was working with the authorities.

“The campaign raised no funds and has been removed from the platform,” spokesperson Katherine Cichy told Law & Crime. “Additionally, the campaign organizer has been banned from using the GoFundMe platform. It is against GoFundMe’s terms of service to raise funds on our platform to buy ammunition or firearms.”

In the shadow of Parkland

The threat is particularly worrisome after the Feb. 14 mass shooting in which 19-year-old shooter Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida. Police say they had received as many as 23 calls regarding Cruz or his brother prior to the killings, according to CNN.

The students and survivors of the Parkland shooting have since publicly and adamantly called for tougher gun control laws, and have inspired student walkouts across the nation.