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Court Asked To Consider Murder Attempt Charge In School Plot

WASECA, Minn. (AP) — Prosecutors asked a state appeals court Wednesday to reinstate attempted murder charges against a teenager accused of plotting an attack on a southern Minnesota school.

A judge in July dismissed four counts of attempted murder and two counts of attempted damage to property against the teen, who was 17 when he was arrested and is now 18. The judge allowed six counts of possession of explosives to stand.

The teen was arrested in April after authorities said they found bomb-making materials in a storage locker in Waseca. Court documents say they also found guns, explosives and a journal that outlined a plan to kill his family, then go to Waseca Junior and Senior High School and "kill as many students as he could."

At the appeals hearing, Waseca County Attorney Brenda Miller argued for reinstating the attempted murder charges. Miller said the teen had loaded a handgun and put it in his bedframe in case any family members found his journal, KEYC-TV reported.

"If they found his bomb-making supplies or the three bombs he had in his bedroom at the time he was arrested and (a) search was conducted, he would use that loaded firearm to kill his family," Miller told the three-judge panel.

But the teen's attorney, Mark Nyvold, maintained there was no intent to carry out a bombing and that authorities could not pinpoint a specific date for such an attack.

Miller countered that the journal pointed to May 20 as an alternative date to the teen's alleged original plans of April 20, the anniversary of the 1999 Columbine school shooting.

The judges now have 90 days to decide whether or not the charges will be reinstated.

The Associated Press generally does not identify juveniles accused of crimes.

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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