A teen accused of plotting to "shoot up" high schools in Connecticut wanted to recreate the 1999 Columbine High School massacre and believed its shooters were heroes, according to court documents.
Natalie Carpenter, 18, was arrested last month after allegedly making threats against Danbury High School and Bunnell High School in Stratford. Her mother told police that Carpenter had attended both schools and had been bullied, according to the arrest warrant application.
The document says friends of the teen and her 19-year-old boyfriend reportedly overheard them making plans in early March to reenact the Columbine shooting in Colorado 15 years ago, when two students fatally gunned down 12 students and a teacher before killing themselves.
Days before her arrest last month, Carpenter reportedly tried to buy a shotgun at a Torrington gun dealer, but was denied and then filled out an application to buy a gun at Wal-Mart. She allegedly expressed interest in a 12-gauge shotgun, according to the arrest warrant application.
Her mother told police that Carpenter was mentally ill, suffering from mood disorder, personality disorder and depression. She had cut herself and attempted suicide, documents show.
She said Carpenter had not been taking her medication, and that she became obsessed with the shooting at Columbine after seeing a movie about it a year ago, according to the affidavit.
Her mother added that her daughter wanted to shoot herself in a school so bullies would understand the consequences of their actions, but insisted her daughter would never hurt anyone else, the application says.
But one of Carpenter's friends said Carpenter and her boyfriend planned to hold students and staff hostage and shoot "until everyone was dead," adding that Carpenter had warned them not to tell authorities about the plan, according to the arrest application.
School officials said Carpenter had a manifesto in her home that described her plan to carry out a school shooting.
Authorities searching Carpenter’s apartment found a book titled “Ceremonial Violence: A Psychological Explanation of School Shootings” along with handwritten notes calling the Columbine shooters heroes and explaining that Carpenter wanted to follow in their footsteps, the affidavit says.
Carpenter wrote that the Sandy Hook school shooting was "uncalled for" and that "high schoolers are the ones who deserve to get shot." She included a list of weapons she would need to carry out the attack, according to the application.
Carpenter is charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree assault and criminal attempt at first-degree assault.
Carpenter, her 19-year-old boyfriend and their friends had been living at a group home for the mentally ill, the affidavit says. A warrant has also been issued for the arrest of her boyfriend.
Carpenter and the boyfriend both admitted to watching videos on the Columbine shootings but said they had no plans to harm anyone. The boyfriend told police it was "all a big joke," the application says.
Carpenter is in protective custody at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital.
Police said after the arrests that no schools were ever in imminent danger.
The public defender representing Carpenter did not return a request for comment.