Riverland high school ‘plot’: Two teenagers accused of planning school massacre

EXCLUSIVE: The mother of one of the teenage boys charged with allegedly plotting a high school massacre in the Riverland says he is not the “cold-hearted psychopath that he was painted out to be”.

• School plot foiled: ‘We prevented a catastrophe’

THE mother of one of the teenage boys charged with allegedly plotting a high school massacre in the Riverland says he is not the “cold-hearted psychopath that he was painted out to be”.

She has told The Advertiser of her confusion about the allegations levelled at her 18-year-old son, who is charged with four aggravated counts of threatening to kill, saying he has a “heart of gold”.

Police on Wednesday revealed they had thwarted an alleged plan by the duo, aged 16 and 18, to attack a Riverland high school they attended using guns, knives and homemade bombs, before the end of this school term.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she was unaware of her son’s alleged involvement in the school plot when police raided her Riverland home several times in the past month looking for weapons.

She said they only found a knife in her son’s possession.

He was first detained by police on November 7, when he was taken away in an ambulance to the local hospital before being transferred to Adelaide, according to his mother.

She said neither she nor her son had been told details of the allegations and that she had to tell him the charges were upgraded on Thursday morning after reading the news.

“(My son) will always help anyone who needs help, he is a fun-loving kid,” she said.

“He’s got a great personality … he’s no angel, even he won’t say that, but he’s not someone that everyone now perceives him to be.

“He’s not the cold-hearted psychopath that he was painted out to be.

“He wasn’t aggressive, he would have opinions but he would come back and would say what he thinks was wrong.”

The two teenagers accused of the Riverland “high school massacre plot”.

The boy left his high school three years ago because he was bullied, his mother claimed.

She said the boy had “gone downhill” due to relationship issues in recent months, which involved a hospital stay, but had found a job and was planning to move out.

“He wanted to get some money and move out with his girlfriend … travel around the country,” his mother said.

“He plays guitar brilliantly and now I’m thinking I won’t be able to listen to him play for a long time.”

She said her family had been through “absolute hell” in the past few weeks.

“We’ve been left in the dark, I’m not been told much,” she said.

“It’s really hard not being to do anything for my child and watching all this unfold.”

She said her son knew the other accused teen, a 16-year-old boy, when they attended the same school several years ago but said the pair had recently started hanging out.

“Some time before all this happened, he (my son) was trying to keep away (from the younger boy), trying to ignore him as much as he could,” she said.

Earlier on Thursday, The Advertiser revealed the 18-year-old was previously involved in an Adelaide online film series and said had the ability “to make people laugh”.

The older boy posted on a talent website three years ago that he loved “acting and playing guitar” and his passions included writing songs and making short films.

He wrote that while he did not have any professional acting experience, he appeared in an online film series based in Adelaide.

On the website page, which has not been updated in three years, he described himself as an “easygoing person” and had the ability “to make people laugh”.

The 18-year-old is charged with four aggravated counts of threatening to kill while the younger boy has been charged with solicit to murder.

Shayle Reid, with daughter Jasmine, said the allegations were “really, really scary”. Picture: Dylan Coker

COMMUNITY IN SHOCK

The Riverland community is still reeling from the allegations.

Local mother-of-three Shayle Reid said she was still unable to comprehend news of the alleged plot to attack the Riverland high school.

Ms Reid said she was not happy details of the incident were kept under wraps for so long.

“I don’t think it’s fair that they’ve kept it from everyone,” Ms Reid said.

“It is really, really scary.

“It’s shocking, who would think anything like this would ever happen in Australia?”

The Advertiser understands only parents of students at the high school in question were invited to the open forum.

The alleged plot has been described as deeply concerning by South Australia’s police minister and “unbelievable” by senior police.

“There is no doubt in my mind that we prevented a catastrophe,” Detective Superintendent Des Bray said.

Des Bray describes the alleged foiled attack on a Riverland high school.

Police said the pair was involved in planning the attack between June 1 and November 7 this year.

“Police will allege they intended to cause harm to a large number of people,” Det-Supt Bray said.

“We believe most likely the attack would have occurred, if not stopped, before the end of the current school term.”

The matter first came to the attention of police on November 3, with both boys taken into custody soon after.

Det-Supt Bray said searches at several properties uncovered knives, homemade body armour and bombs.

He said the duo was not going to target specific individuals “but the faculty and students”.

“They told some other people about what they were intending to do, and then they told other people,” Det-Supt Bray said.

“Soon it became known to quite a number of people.

“There is no evidence to show that any other person was linked with this matter, nor did the two individuals have possession of firearms.”

Det-Supt Bray said it would be “unbelievable to think that this sort of thing could happen in SA”.

“I am not aware of us having an incident like this in recent times,” he said.

“There is no doubt in my mind that we prevented a catastrophe.”

The high school’s principal wrote to students and parents about the matter on Wednesday afternoon to assure them the school was safe.

A local community leader said the allegations had “devastated” the close-knit community.

“It’s tragic for the school community but it is a one-off situation,” he said.

“We are pleased that our community has worked together and avoided this crisis and that’s the good thing that has come out of this.”

He urged anyone in the community who had information to contact police.

Police Minister Chris Picton said the allegations were “deeply concerning”.

“In our state, on the whole, we are fortunate to have a harmonious community but there is always potential for a threat of this nature to occur and so it’s important for everyone to remain vigilant,” he said.

“In this case, the police took very swift action to intercept what could have been a devastating situation for this Riverland community. I commend the police for their actions to investigate this incident and their subsequent work to engage with and reassure people in the local area.”

Education Minister Susan Close commended the school’s reaction to its community.

“At the time of the arrests the school did an incredible job informing parents, making sure a letter went out,” she said.

“The high school held a public forum to make sure everyone understood what had occurred, within the limits of what was able to be said, and also that they were perfectly safe and they could re-engage with the school with no problems.”

The accused teens have been remanded in custody to face court at a later date.

Anyone with information that may be of use to police should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000