Would-Be School Shooter Pleads Guilty In SnoCo Superior Court

EVERETT, WA — The Mukilteo School District student who robbed a gas station and plotted to shoot his classmates at ACES High School in Everett earlier this year reportedly admitted his guilt in Snohomish County Superior Court last week.

Joshua Alexander O'Connor, 18, pleaded guilty Dec. 6 to attempted murder, robbery, and possession of an explosive device. O'Connor is on trial for a plot that was ultimately foiled by his grandmother after she found a journal that described his plans and the rifle he was supposedly going to use.

O'Connor was pulled from class at ACES High School and arrested Feb. 13, the day after he robbed an Everett gas station at gunpoint and the day before the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in which 17 people were killed and 17 others were injured.

According to the journal O'Connor's grandmother found under his pillow, O'Connor wanted to carry out a mass shooting similar to the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado; so enamored with the Columbine event was he that O'Connor reportedly planned to go through with his shooting on April 19, the day before the anniversary.

In a detailed synopsis of the prospective crime, the series of events immediately preceding O'Connor's arrest, and the odd variety of incidents that occurred afterward, The Daily Herald describes O'Connor as a troubled youth with a detailed plan but confused motives — aside from wanting to become an infamous mass shooter. Even his choice to shoot up ACES was only decided on a coin toss, The Daily Herald reported. His other option was apparently Kamiak High School, from which he'd been suspended twice before enrolling at ACES.

O'Connor now faces a maximum sentence of 28 years in prison, though his defense is reportedly hoping for less time.

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