Washington County Sheriff's Office helps stop Indiana school shooting
Wash Co. helps stop Indiana school shooting
A tip to authorities in Washington County, Wisconsin helped avert a Valentine's Day school shooting that could have happened in Indiana.
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Wis. - The Washington County Sheriff's Office helped stop a school shooting in Indiana.
Timeline:
They received a tip, on Monday, about a shooting planned for today, Friday, Feb. 14.
That initial tip alerted authorities about a Valentine's Day school shooting.
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Authorities first believed the suspect was in Washington County, but learned just in time they were more than 300 miles away.
"It’s amazing, the connections, how little Washington County fit into the equation," said Washington County Sheriff Martin Schulteis. "The news story would be much, much different if it were not for the tipster."
On Monday, Feb. 10, the sheriff's office got a tip about a school shooting planned for Valentine's Day from the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
Washington County Sheriff's Office
"We thought initially that was the suspect that we were seeking and that it was a local school in Washington County," Schulties added.
It led investigators to the small Town of Addison.
Deputies secured a search warrant and setup surveillance on the home of a 19-year-old.
On Tuesday morning--they made contact with the woman.
"That female was very cooperative. She certainly was connected to the chat rooms, but she was not the target that we were looking for," said Schulties.
The sheriff says she was in chat rooms on the Discord app with the would-be shooter who was more than 300 miles away in Mooresville, Indiana.
The suspect was identified through online chat rooms
"Oh, it's very disturbing. I mean, this is a small town and a lot of us have. I mean, I have family who goes there," said Kerry Buckner, Mooresville, Indiana Police Chief.
18-year-old Trinity Schockley was arrested.
What we know:
Court documents say she had been planning the shooting for more than a year and had access to an AR-15 and a bulletproof vest.
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Mooresville, Indiana
Authorities are thankful for a tip that prevented a tragedy.
"Sometimes there’s a little bit of luck involved with law enforcement, and I’ll take luck and dedication every time," said Schulties.
Investigators say they found a collage with pictures of school shooters on Shockley's bedroom wall.
They say she had an infatuation with the Parkland shooter who killed 17 people on Valentine's Day in 2018.
The Source: FOX6 spoke with Washington County Sheriff Martin Schulteis. Additional reporting on the school shooting threat was provided by FOX59 in Indianapolis.