Teen Says He Hid Pipe Bombs At His Home

Prosecutor Says Troubled Kid, Facing Life Sentence, Was Only Bragging About Booby Traps

(CBS/AP)  The teenager accused of planning to bomb his high school told investigators he had placed several pipe bombs around his family's home, but authorities have found no explosives, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

Ryan Schallenberger may have just been bragging, state prosecutor Jay Hodge said

"He may have tried to make something and didn't finish it," Hodge said. "The kid is either just making it up or disposed of them."

A search that included the use of a bomb-sniffing dog found nothing Saturday, when the boy was arrested after his parents discovered he had ordered ammonium nitrate on eBay.

Authorities have said Schallenberger could have assembled bombs within minutes with materials they found at the home. A journal found there contained bombing plans, including a hand-drawn map of Chesterfield High School, and hate-filled pages that lauded the Columbine killers in Colorado, police said. They also said they found an audiotape that Schallenberger wanted played after he died.

Hodge on Tuesday said the 50-page journal also contained some attempts at self-analysis and that the teen knew that what he was planning was wrong. "He had a temper," the prosecutor said.

The journal did not name a specific target for an attack nor did it specify whom Schallenberger wanted to harm.

Ashley Waters, one of Schallenberger's classmates, told the CBS Early Show, "What he did is completely out of his character. He's really nice, he talks to everybody, everybody talks to him. Nobody picks on him, so we don't really know what's going on."

Schallenberger, 18, faces several state and federal charges, including attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, which carries a possible life sentence.

Authorities initially said the teen had ordered 10 pounds of ammonium nitrate, but Hodge said Wednesday the material actually weighed 20 pounds.

Ammonium nitrate is a common fertilizer that has been a main ingredient in bombs used in attacks across the world, including the deadly 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that destroyed a federal building.

Schallenberger, a top student at the school, purchased the ammonium nitrate from a seller in Kentucky, federal officials said. A spokeswoman for eBay has said the California-based company has been cooperating with authorities in their investigation.

CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann reports that by the time Schallenberger's parents began to seek help for their son, the bomb-making supplies that he had ordered using the Internet were already in the mail.

After authorities were alerted by his parents, deputies searched Schallenberger's home and seized several items, including a laptop computer, which was being analyzed by the State Law Enforcement Division, Hodge said. They also found an audiotape he left to be played after his death.

Schallenberger's mother and stepfather, John and Laurie Sittley, have not commented publicly. Their phone number is unlisted and their home off a dirt road about 10 miles from the school has "No Trespassing" signs posted.

Federal public defender Michael Meetze, who represents Schallenberger, declined to comment Wednesday.

Schallenberger's attorney on the state charge, William Spencer, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Wednesday.

Chesterfield is a town of about 1,500 in the northeastern part of the state.

[usbrit-2009]

Any explosive experts out there? ANFO is a pretty weak explosive in my book. MacVeigh used 3 tons of it to kill 168 people in one building. This kid has 20 lbs? I doubt that would make a serious crater. In pipe bombs, shrapnel might be a problem but I just don''t think 20 lbs is good for much.

[complexities]

Another life thrown away. Another family destroyed by the acts of a teenage child. Why don''t we just number these kids instead of using their names?

I can''t even begin to imagine what his parents must be going through. They did the right thing, but it has to hurt tremendously. No parent wants their child to do anything like this. No parent wants to make the phone call that most likely will put their child in prison for a very long time, if not for life.

Fortunately, because they did the right thing, they most likely saved the horror from many other families and their community. They saved countless kids from having to witness their friends and teachers being killed right before their eyes, leaving them psychologically scared for life. What that phone call did to protect those their son would have harmed.

My heart goes out to his parents. They did the right thing, but it has to have completely shattered their own selves in the process.

[brianbwb-2009]

Posted by sbbm

There is a BIG difference, the suicide bombers in the Middle East are resisting the subjugation of their people, sacrificing their lives for the cause they believe to be for the good of their families left behind. In short they, more often than not, have real and legitimate justifications for what they do.

Conversely, this man, along with the Columbine shooters, Tim McVeigh, Son of Sam, the Unabomber, and other such people are simply self indulgent psychopaths, angry for reasons usually connected with repressed erotic natures, and nothing more.

[newsterl]

Am I reading this right? "The journal did not name a specific target for an attack, nor did it specify whom Schallenburger wanted to harm"?
He didn''''t even have a bomb made, just materials. He had made no call-in threats. I agree this boy needs some psychiatric help.
Some of you calling names like inbred hillbilly etc. What gracious state in the USA do you live? Not that I really want to know, I do want to know where NOT to visit. Read the article say what you think about that...think some of you can handle it?

Posted by wlmrtpatriot"

He had bomb making materials and ammonium nitrate- his PARENTS turned him in, so the cops are required to investigate

[newsterl]

" hate-filled pages that lauded the Columbine killers in Colorado, police said. They also said they found an audiotape that Schallenberger wanted played after he died."

Hes 18 and he lauded the columbine nuts? he was like what, about EIGHT when they did that??

Just jump off a bridge by yourself if you feel like exiting, thanks!

[newsterl]

Check out his MYSPACE account. www.the-SPAMMER-virus.com

Posted by Danahart3 at 10:25 PM : Apr 23, 2008

There''s that VIRUS site url again, erporting as spam now.

[apprxam]

AMerica''s finest...and he''s all ours.

[wlmrtpatriot]

Some of you people on this posting board are absolutely the dumbest individuals I''ve ever seen.

Am I reading this right? "The journal did not name a specific target for an attack, nor did it specify whom Schallenburger wanted to harm"?
He didn''t even have a bomb made, just materials. He had made no call-in threats. I agree this boy needs some psychiatric help.
Some of you calling names like inbred hillbilly etc. What gracious state in the USA do you live? Not that I really want to know, I do want to know where NOT to visit. Read the article say what you think about that...think some of you can handle it?

[magoo2u1]

"The kids an inbred hillbilly. What a dumb chit."

That''s right, just as dumb as the inbred hillbillies from Pa, NY, NH, VT, OH, CT .....................

[magoo2u1]

"Yes and no. Where were his parents and the lessons they were to teach him..as he was growing up."

Read the article nimwhit, they called the authorities. People said he was a nice guy, he attempted self analysis admitting his plan was wrong. Why do idiots like you try to find someone extra to toss in a cell?
This kid needs psych help along with any punishment.
If you start putting people away for life for seeking help your not gonna get any phone calls before the fireworks go off. I''ll bet before it''s over the parents are going to regret asking for help and it''s because of dikweeds like you.