Police arrest three in school shooting plot in Atlanta area

Three people, including two juveniles, have been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to carry out a shooting at a high school in metro Atlanta, authorities said Tuesday.

The announcement of the alleged plot comes after a 16-year-old boy killed three children and a teacher in a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in central Oregon.

The FBI discovered threatening posts online from one of the trio and worked with local police to make the arrests on Oct. 20 and Oct. 23, apprehending two of them in Georgia and a third in California, the Canton Police Department said in a news release. They found weapons and ammunition.

They were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder. Police said one of the suspects is 21 years old and another 17, but they didn't provide the age of the third suspect other than saying he is a juvenile.

Cherokee County School Superintendent Dr. Mary Elizabeth Davis said that the juvenile is a former student at Cherokee High School, WSB-TV reported.

The investigation is active, Canton police said. The department didn't provide details about what exactly they were planning to do or how close they were to doing it.

The Canton Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Cherokee County School District also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kelety reported from Phoenix.