School Shooting was Set for Columbine Anniversary…sort of

It’s April, you know what that means. Another CHUD decided they needed to shoot up their school on the anniversary of Columbine. I thought we’d escape that this year since the 20th is on a Sunday, but this year, one of the troglodytes figured they could just wait a day.

Police say 20-year-old Braeden Phillips, formerly of State College, Pennsylvania, was arrested Friday night after plotting a school shooting at State College Area High School, on April 21. Strategically scheduled the day after the 26th anniversary of Columbine because, God forbid, he misses the chance to cosplay as Eric Harris.

He wasn’t just thinking bullets, either. According to the criminal complaint, there were plans for bombs in school bathrooms, a ‘hit list’ of people to be executed, and the whole thing was to kick off at 8:40 a.m. near the school’s main staircase, timed for maximum chaos.

The attack never happened, thanks to a tip from a resident at a local youth community center. That person alerted staff, who called police, setting off an investigation that ended with Phillips in custody by Friday.

Phillips was denied bail, because, in the judge’s words, he’s an ‘extreme danger to the community.’ Yet, despite being locked up, the fallout continues. State College Area High School will have metal detectors and extra police officers on campus Monday. More security theater, but, whatever.

One line from the complaint stands out. A witness told police that Phillips said the school ‘failed him.’ How, exactly? Did a teacher forget to curve a test? Did he get rejected by a club, a college, a girl? He’s 20 years old. He’s not even a student anymore. What exactly does it mean to be ‘failed’ by a high school you’ve already left behind? And why the hell is that a justification for plotting to blow it up? He sounds like one of those guys who never leaves his hometown area, and blames everything but himself for why he’s stuck there.

I’m sure someone in the coming days will trot out the bullying excuse. Like that’s some kind of understandable prelude to mass violence. As if hurt feelings justify stockpiling weapons and drawing up kill lists. Let’s be clear, millions of students face adversity in school. Very few of them become columbiners.

Yes, columbiner. That’s the subculture name for people who worship the Columbine shooters. They romanticize Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold as misunderstood martyrs, analyzing their journals, idolizing their trench coats, glorifying their body count. It’s not mental illness. It’s not grief. It’s a toxic delusion, and it’s spreading online like rot.

Phillips allegedly planned this shooting for months. The complaint traces it back to February, possibly earlier. He was reportedly seen with a black Glock-style pistol on multiple occasions. Let’s pause there. Pennsylvania law prohibits handgun possession under the age of 21. So how’d he get it? How does someone who legally can’t own a pistol wind up with one while also building a plan for mass murder? Who gave it to him? Who sold it? Who looked the other way? Is it a family member’s gun?

Where’s the accountability?

Meanwhile, the school district is trying to reassure everyone that there’s no active threat. The School Superintendent thanked police and school resource officers for their rapid response. That’s all well and good, but it’s a routine we’ve seen far too many times. The potential shooter gets arrested, the school adds metal detectors for a day, teachers become trauma counselors, and everyone pretends this is normal.

This isn’t normal. This is just the latest in a long, rotting string of Columbine-obsessed failures who think the solution to their problems comes from a trigger.

Braeden Phillips is just another loser copycat. Another columbiner who couldn’t face the fact that life didn’t turn out the way he wanted, so he plotted to take it out on a bunch of kids. Now he’s right where he belongs, behind bars, not behind a trigger.

(Sources)

UPDATE 5/7/2025: Phillips was recently denied bail.