In Mooresville, Indiana, a potential mass shooting was prevented thanks to an anonymous tip line established after the tragic 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut. Authorities credit a call to this tip line for setting off a series of events that thwarted a planned attack on Valentine’s Day.
Facing charges of conspiracy to commit murder and two terrorism-related offenses is 18-year-old Trinity Shockley. The accusations revolve around a foiled plan to carry out a school shooting at Mooresville High School in Morgan County. Shockley, who is transgender and also known as Jamie, was reported to authorities. The affidavit, as reported by CNN affiliate WISH, does not specify which pronouns Shockley prefers.
Shockley’s apprehension followed a report to the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System earlier in the week. The tipster revealed that Shockley’s friend had acquired an AR-15 rifle, purchased a bulletproof vest, and expressed admiration for Nikolas Cruz, the perpetrator of the tragic 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which claimed 17 lives.
The reporting system operated by Sandy Hook Promise, the violence prevention group launched by parents who lost children in the Sandy Hook massacre, then notified the FBI per their protocol, and sent them screen shots of messages Shockley appeared to have sent on the messaging app Discord, according to an arrest affidavit.
The FBI passed the tip to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, as they initially believed the threats originated from that state. Wisconsin DOJ then notified investigators with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Their detectives determined a Wisconsin woman, whom the tipster believed to be the one making threats, was not the suspect and there were no local schools at risk of being targeted. Further investigation found that Wisconsin woman had allegedly been in contact with Shockley via a chat group about school shooters. The woman wasn’t arrested or charged and was released from custody after being interviewed by investigators.
Detectives were then able to coach the tipster, who was still in real-time communication with Shockley, to get a phone number from Shockley, and authorities determined the suspect was in Indiana, officials said. The sheriff’s office shared its information with the FBI’s Indianapolis office.
The tipster provided investigators with screenshots of conversations with Shockley, pictures of weapons, magazines, a tactical vest and screenshots of Shockley’s bedroom, which had numerous photographs of past school shooters, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said.
Shockley spoke with a school counselor Tuesday at the end of the school day and expressed an “obsession” with and sexual attraction to Cruz, the affidavit said.
After the conversation, the counselor contacted the school’s administration and a “proactive response plan was being scheduled for prior to the next school day,” Mooresville Schools said in a statement.
Police executed a search warrant at Shockley’s home on Wednesday, according to the affidavit. Shockley was arrested and is currently being held in the Morgan County Jail, police said.
“I am incredibly grateful for the quick response of our local, state, and federal law enforcement whose actions prevented what could have been a devastating situation,” Superintendent of Mooresville Schools Jake Allen said in a statement.
Shockley has retained an attorney and will be held before appearing at a bond hearing Tuesday at 8 a.m., Cassie Mellady, chief deputy prosecutor for Morgan County, told CNN.
The tip line was credited with impacting school safety before
The Say Something Anonymous Reporting System is an around-the-clock crisis center staffed by trained counselors who review tips submitted by phone, online or through their mobile app.
Sandy Hook Promise set up the reporting system to “submit secure, anonymous safety concerns to help someone who may hurt themselves or others,” according to its website.
The tip line page lists some of the most common behaviors and incidents to report. Those include acts of violence with or without weapons, bragging about weapons or a planned attack, and threats seen on social media.
Once a tipster provides the information they have about a safety or mental health concern, a crisis counselor reviews that information, Sandy Hook Promise says.
More than 287,000 tips have been received by the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System over the years, Nick Dmitrovich, a Sandy Hook Promise spokesperson, told CNN.
With the prevention of this most recent tragedy, Sandy Hook Promise’s reporting system has averted at least 17 credible planned school shootings and “averted countless other acts of violence, suicide, and self-harm since its founding,” the organization told CNN.
A prevented attack is determined by assessing where the initial information came, and whether law enforcement confirmed the threat was credible and there was access to a weapon and a plan, Dmitrovich said.
The anonymous reporting system also has led to the prevention of numerous instances of suicide, according to a study published last year in the journal Pediatrics and funded by the Chaiken Foundation and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“This is a bittersweet day for us. While we remember the lives tragically taken at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School seven years ago today, we are grateful that the Mooresville community was spared,” Nicole Hockley, co-founder and co-CEO of Sandy Hook Promise, said in a statement Friday. Her son was killed in the Sandy Hook massacre.
“This story illustrates the lifesaving impact of recognizing warning signs, taking it seriously, and acting immediately to get help. It only takes one person to ‘say something’ for lives to be saved. Threats are never a joke,” she added.
