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A 19-year-old South Carolina man accused of plotting to blow up his high school in 2008 is expected to plead guilty today in a federal court in Florence, S.C.
The Associated Press, quoting prosecutors and defense attorneys, is reporting that Ryan Anthony Schallenberger, of Ruby, S.C., will change his plea to guilty during a hearing this morning.
Schallenberger, a former student at Chesterfield High School, faces three federal explosive charges in connection with the plot.
He was arrested in April 2008, after police in Chesterfield County said his parents picked up a package that had been addressed to him. The package contained 20 pounds of ammonium nitrate, police say. Schallenberger was not home when the package was delivered
Police said they later found other bomb-making materials and an audiotape that Schallenberger, then a high school senior, wanted played after his planned attack at the high school.
The federal charges could put Schallenberger in prison for up to 40 years.
At the time of the arrest, Chesterfield Police Chief Randall Lear said Schallenberger's writings included a map of the school, but it was unclear exactly when he planned his attack.
"He seemed to hate the world," Lear said. "He hated people different from him — the rich boys with good-looking girlfriends."
Lear said Schallenberger's writings also included mention of the two teens who killed 13 people at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999 before committing suicide.
School officials said Schallenberger was a good student who had not displayed any signs of trouble.
The Associated Press contributed.
