NORRISTOWN, Pa. — The mother of a 14-year-old who authorities say had a cache of guns, knives and explosive devices in his bedroom for a possible school attack was charged Friday with buying her son three weapons.
Michele Cossey, 46, bought her home-schooled son, Dillon, a .22-caliber handgun, a .22-caliber rifle and a 9 mm semiautomatic rifle, authorities said.
The teenager felt bullied and tried to recruit another boy for a possible attack at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, authorities said. His mother was not accused of helping plot an attack, “but by virtue of her indulgence, she enabled him to get in this position,” Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor said.
“This is not the best parenting I’ve ever seen and she needs to be held accountable,” Castor said.
Acting on a tip from a high school student and his father, police on Wednesday found the rifle, about 30 air-powered guns, swords, knives, a bomb-making book, videos of the 1999 Columbine attack in Colorado and violence-filled notebooks in the boy’s bedroom, Castor said.
The mother bought the rifle, which had a laser scope, at a gun show on Sept. 23 and provided police with a receipt, investigators said in court papers. The teenager said the two .22-caliber weapons were stored at a friend’s house.
The mother was charged with unlawful transfer of a firearm, possession of a firearm by a minor, corruption of a minor, endangering the welfare of a child and two counts of reckless endangerment, and was later released on bail.
The teen, who also had a brief court appearance Friday, was ordered held at a juvenile facility while he undergoes psychiatric evaluations. He was charged with solicitation to commit terror and other counts, but his lawyer, David Farrell, said all but one of the weapons prosecutors put on display were pellet guns and air rifles.
The teen previously attended middle school in the district but had been taught at home for more than a year after voluntarily leaving school, Castor said. Castor has said he does not believe an attack was imminent or would occur at all. He said Friday that the teen had a “disturbed mind.”
“This was a smart kid that clearly believes he was picked on and was a victim,” Castor said. “He had psychological issues and began to act out on those feelings.”
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