Mum speaks out about reporting son to police after finding plans for school shooting
Shola Lee
Featured Image Credit: Good Morning America
A dedicated mother who decided to turn in her own son may have saved countless lives, including his own.
Watch the mum's heartbreaking interview here:
21 years after the Columbine massacre cut into our consciousness, Nicole Schubert's 17-year-old son was planning his own attack.
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He'd detailed everything in his notebook, starting with his plans to murder his mother and her boyfriend, and killing many people as possible, before fighting to the death or taking his own life.
Schubert has since spoken out about the tough but undoubtedly right decision to turn her child in.
She explains how 'devastating' it was for her to learn of his plans to hurt masses of people at Washington State high school.
The mother deliberated what to do with the concerning contents, and while her 'first instinct' was to protect her child, she ultimately settled on calling the police.
"That's my child, I gave birth to him. It hurts a lot, it still hurts," Schubert told Good Morning America.
When confronted about the notebook, her son said that it was 'just a story' but Schubert worried that he could hurt someone.
"If there's a possibility to save even one person, one child, I think it's worth it," she added.
Nicole went on to explain that it wasn't just about her family, but potentially 'hundreds of people' - a fear that was worsened by the discovery of what she believed to be homemade pipe bomb in the teenager's room.
Her son was then arrested and pled guilty to the felony charge of threatening to bomb or injure, as well as misdemeanours for harassment.
He completed a rehabilitation programme and community service for his crimes and underwent a mental evaluation.
Following recent mass shootings in the United States, Schubert decided to share her story to appeal to parents who might find themselves in similar situations.
She maintained that it was a parent's responsibility to keep an eye on their kid.
"Stay in their business," she said. "Even if they don't like it. They're not gonna like it, but as parents, it's our job to know what our kids are doing. Just be aware, and watch for signs. Kids will normally tell you by their actions when something is wrong."
Schubert made clear she doesn't regret turning in her son because she believes she 'saved lives' with her actions, and expressed belief parents should be held accountable to a certain point in such situations.
She explained: "Obviously we can't control our children's actions all the time, who can? But there are signs that you know something's not right... I was in his room [asking] 'what are you doing, where are you going?' all the time, and he hated it, but he's alive, and everyone's alive."
Since the incident and subsequent intervention, Schubert's son has not had any issues with the law and has since got a job.