Something was in the air this past Monday; schools in Louisiana and NYC are still feeling the repercussions of it.
Two Louisiana students were arrested on counts of "terrorizing," and were allegedly planning a Columbine "anniversary" crime spree. Did the police really prevent another school shooting, or was this an over-reaction?
Poems by the pair about being bullied and numerous writings in which Levins, a senior, and Sinclair, a sophomore, refer to themselves as "The Trenchcoat Mafia" were also found, authorities said...
"We found one drawing that had the student blowing the brains out of a particular teacher," Wiley said. Another depicted Levins and Sinclair on a school roof celebrating around dead bodies hanging out of windows, officers said.
"Apparently, they were planning to wake up at 4:20 a.m. on April 20 of this year to do this," Maj. Tony Bacala said.
Authorities said said no weapons were found, although detectives did find evidence that Levins and Sinclair had obtained information on buying shotguns and rifles.
And in New York, in the wake of Mayor Bloomberg's "crackdown on classroom mayhem," there were 17 arrests in and around local schools:
In Brooklyn, an all-out brawl erupted in a high school cafeteria.
In the Bronx, a 15-year-old boy allegedly sent three safety officers to the hospital.
In Chelsea, two teenage girls were charged with assaulting a teacher. And in Harlem, gunfire erupted outside a grammar school just before classes began, sending kids, parents and teachers scurrying for cover.
Authorities were probing a fifth possible incident, as an Education Department spokeswoman said only that officials were still working "to make our schools safer."
Sounds like they've got their work cut out for them.