Two juniors at Springbrook High School are accused of setting a fire at their school and conspiring to bomb it in an attempt to kill the principal and a guidance counselor, Montgomery County police said.
Yonata Getachew, 18, and Anthony N. Torrence, 17, were arrested Tuesday night, police said. Charges against them include attempted first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree arson. Despite being a juvenile, Torrence is being charged as an adult.
At 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, firefighters responded to a report of attempted arson in the ROTC hallway and a fire in the boys locker room, police said Wednesday. The walls of the bathroom were charred, but no one was injured.
Getachew and Torrence were stopped by a school resource officer as they tried to leave the school soon after the fire was set, Superintendent Jerry Weast said. Teachers also reported that Getachew and Torrence were missing from class at various times during the day.
Investigators said that officers searching the students’ homes Tuesday night discovered bomb-making materials and flammable liquids. Also found were notes about the planned attack and school building designs. The two students were arrested following the searches.
There was a “plan involving setting fires, trying to break open a gas pipe and using that to create an explosion,” police Chief Thomas Manger said. It was unclear whether the pair were attempting to execute that plan Tuesday. Their motive for attacking the principal and guidance counselor was also unknown as of Wednesday, police said.
According to investigators, the teens had been planning for weeks to assault a school counselor and principal Michael Durso. Had they gone through with the attack, other faculty and students would have been harmed.
Anthony’s mother, Andrea, was reached at her Burtonsville home, but directed all questions to their attorney, Charles Lazar. He later said Anthony Torrence “may have emotional problems,” but declined to comment further.
There was no answer at Getachew’s house in Silver Spring.
The teens are expected to appear in court Thursday.
