We all know mass shootings are a problem that needs to be addressed. And while the solution for eliminating them all together may be complex, when someone knows of a person with a plan, the solution for that specific potential shooting isn’t so complex, as one mother in the state of Washington demonstrated. This mother turned her teenage son into police and effectively prevented another school shooting.
Why a Mother Turned Her Teenage Son into Police
Back in 2019, Nicole Schubert of Washington was cleaning her home when she came across a notebook of her son’s. Upon looking through it, she was terrified by what she saw. According to Schubert, the discovery was “devastating.”
And this discovery is the reason the mother turned her teenage son into police. Schubert’s son was 17 years old and a senior in high school at the time.
In her son’s notebook, there was a written plan for a school shooting that he had envisioned to carry out at his own high school.
“It was very descriptive. It was just heartbreaking,” Schubert said in an interview with Good Morning America. “I didn’t really want to know the details.”
According to Schubert, her son’s plan began with killing her before he went on to carry out the school shooting.
“It hurts a lot,” Schubert said, thinking of her son’s plan. “It still hurts.”
Even though the plan would harm her, too, she briefly deliberated about what to do because of an instinct to protect her child.
“Your first instinct is…as a parent, is to protect your child,” she said. “But at that point, if he is actually going to do these things, he would be safer in jail.”
Her decision factored in more than just herself, despite her instincts. She considered the people at the school.
“At the school I have a lot of friends…I had a lot of friends that have children there,” Schubert said. “It wasn’t just about me and him at that point. It was about a whole school.”
Watch Schubert talk about her decision here:
How the Mother Prevented a School Shooting
Knowing the risk to all the people at the school, Schubert decided to turn in her son.
The mother turned her teenage son into police by calling and informing them of the notebook.
She turned over the notebook as evidence, and she talked to the police about a previous incident where she’d found a pipe bomb that the boy had made himself.
The police then arrested Schubert’s son.
Schubert told GMA that her son said the plan she found in his notebook was “just a story.”
But he ended up pleading guilty to the charge police had against him, which was a felony for “threatening to bomb or injury property.” He also plead guilty to misdemeanors for harassment.
The judge required him to complete a rehabilitation program, as well as community service. In addition, he was required to have a mental evaluation. He complied with all of it.
So many wonder, since the mother turned her teenage son into police, does she have any regrets?