- Andrea Ye, 18, has been charged with making threats of mass violence.
- The police found a written ‘manifesto’ that ‘defined a strategy to carry out the act’
An 18-year-old transgender boy planned a school shooting because he “wanted to be famous,” according to police who arrested him after finding his 129-page “manifesto.”
Andrea Ye, whose preferred name is Alex, was arrested Wednesday and charged with threatening mass violence after allegedly planning a shooting at Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland.
Police swooped on Ye after finding a “manifesto” written by the teenager which they said “writes about a school shooting and lays out strategies to carry out the act.”
In the pages, Ye allegedly wrote that he “wants to be famous” and contemplated targeting an elementary school since “young children are easier targets.”
According to court documents seen by ABC, Ye first described the manifesto as “fiction” but later described it as “his memoirs.”
Andrea Ye, whose preferred name is Alex, was arrested Wednesday and charged with threatening mass violence.
He allegedly planned to shoot up Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland.
Montgomery County Public Schools told Fox that Ye is an active student at Wootton High School in Rockville, but has attended through a virtual program and had not been physically on campus since 2022.
Police reportedly said in court records that Ye’s gender is female but that he uses male pronouns.
After the FBI alerted Montgomery County police about the manifesto, they obtained a search warrant and found Internet searches, drawings and documents related to threats of mass violence.
Ye reportedly put a disclaimer on the book saying it does not “represent the beliefs of the author,” but one witness, who first contacted authorities in early March, expressed concern that the manifesto had ” striking similarities” with Ye.
The witness believed the writings indicated Ye was prepared to carry out a mass shooting imminently, according to court documents. seen on ABC.
Authorities said they had determined that the manifesto appears to have “parts of fictional and non-fictional qualities.”
Court documents claim the witness told police that Ye’s “memoir” was about “a transgender main character” named “James Wang.”
They said ‘Wang’ was “being bullied at school and other issues that [the witness] They are believed to come directly from Ye’s life and are not indicative of fiction.
According to ABC, the manifesto described how the character would “choose the classrooms that are the easiest targets” and said: “I’ve also thought about shooting up my old elementary school because little kids are easier targets.”
Authorities said they found social media posts and searches for Ye supposedly searching for ‘shooting range near me’ and the phrase ‘But I recognize that my plan is totally unethical.’ “He is selfish and evil,” according to court documents seen by ABC.
The documents reportedly show Ye telling an online user, “My homicidal thoughts have gotten worse lately to the point that I might eventually act on them,” then adding, “I would like to kill a lot of people or I would.” . It won’t be worth it.
Montgomery County Public Schools told Fox that Ye is an active student at Wootton High School in Rockville, but has been attending virtually.
Police swooped on Ye after finding a “manifesto” written by the teenager which they said “writes about a school shooting and lays out strategies to carry out the act.”
Ye was arrested on Wednesday and He is being held in the Montgomery County Jail while awaiting a bond hearing; He has not yet pleaded guilty.
Ye has a long history of hospital care for mental health problems, according to court documents seen by ABC, and had openly expressed thoughts of homicidal and suicidal ideation.
According to court documents, Ye was previously hospitalized “for threatening to ‘shoot up a school.'”
He was evaluated at home and then hospitalized again in March, then the hospital raised the alarm to the school and law enforcement officials because of “the threat Ye poses.”
A counselor who had worked with Ye told authorities that he “expressed violent thoughts like shooting up the school” and “smiled as he said it,” according to documents seen by ABC.