Police are investigating whether an unsettling Facebook exchange can be used as proof a teenager was plotting a school massacre with his friend in South Australia.
Two boys, aged 16 and 18, were accused of planning a “catastrophic” attack at an unidentified Riverland school earlier this week using knives and explosives.
Just 10 weeks ago, the older boy posted chilling song lyrics on his Facebook.
“My mind was a fortress you knew how to rupture. Flanking the trenches and storming my bunker,” it read.
At the time, the status seemed unremarkable, but his friend’s unnerving reply caught the police’s attention.
“Shooting up schools, putting kids in their slumber. Which gun should I choose, oh how I wonder,” the boy wrote.
It will be alleged the pair were inspired by the notorious 1999 Columbine High School massacre where two teens murdered 12 students and a teacher.
Of the two teens, currently in custody, the detective said: “The younger has been charged with a count of solicit to murder, while the older teenager has been charged with aggravated counts of threatening to kill.”
The 18-year-old’s brother has revealed despite living in the same house, he had no idea of his sibling’s intentions.
“It was pretty much a sense of disbelief and shock I guess,” he told 7 News.
“You don’t think something like that could happen in this community let alone your own family.”
The police raided their home three weeks ago.
“It’s really hard to put your mind around it, to imagine something like that on such a scale,” the brother said.
The 16-year-old’s family has accused the police of fabricating the allegations, but the 18-year-old’s brother has praised police for their work.
“You’ve got to stand by your family as much as you can. Sometimes it can be a very, very hard thing to do,” the brother said.
