A 17-year-old boy was found not guilty of plotting a mass shooting at South Portland High School, according to the Portland Press Herald.
The teen was charged with criminal solicitation for murder and arson. He was accused of making threats and trying to recruit another person to commit mass murder at South Portland High School last spring.
A judge ruled the teen was not guilty of the solicitation charge but adjudicated of committing arson, according to the Press Herald. Adjudications replace convictions in juvenile court.
A witness testified during his trial the suspect told her about wanting to shoot up the school, his obsession with the Columbine school shooting, and how to make Molotov cocktails. She also said he enjoyed setting things on fire.
Investigators said they had evidence that showed the teen setting fire to stolen Pride flags and throwing Molotov cocktails at the Wainwright Sports Complex in South Portland.
Police said they found several guns in the suspect’s home, including the same type of gun used in the Columbine shooting.
During the trial, the suspect’s lawyer said the evidence presented was “incomplete and out of context.”
The teen also violated his conditions of release when he joined an online neo-Nazi chatroom.
He will be sentenced at a later date on the arson charge, the Press Herald reported. Adjudicated juvenile offenders can’t be detained beyond their 21st birthday.
