Four Ohio students alerted authorities after a former student told them to avoid going to school on a specific day for their own good.
Tristan Ascura, 19, was arrested early Thursday morning after telling those students who go to Elida High School not to go to class on September 1 because he was going to “shoot it up,” according to The Lima News.
Joel Mengerink, the superintendent for Elida Schools, praised the students for coming forward saying, “Their actions in this are heroic.”
Ascura was a student at Elida High until early April. He had been administratively withdrawn from the school because his attendance was that poor.
He is being held at the Allen County Jail after being charged with inducing a panic, which is a second degree felony.
The sheriff’s office discovered an AR-15 rifle and 500 rounds of 0.556 caliber ammunition in Ascura’s possession.
Detective Ryan Ream told reporters they found a clip loaded with ammunition.
At this point they are not sure what Ascura’s motivations were.