What did Brandon Michael Morrissette do? Ohio High School student charged with attempted murder 

On Monday, April 3, 18-year-old Ohio High School student Brandon Michael Morrissette was arrested after he was found armed with a gun at the West Geauga high school. According to the Geauga County Maple Leaf, Morrisette allegedly planned to carry out a school shooting. He has been charged with attempted aggravated murder, illegal possession of a deadly weapon in a school, and inducing panic.

Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of a school shooting incident. Readers' discretion is advised.

As per Ohio authorities, the incident was prevented because a student discovered bullets in the school bathroom. The student notified authorities, after which school surveillance cameras were searched for all the students who had entered the bathroom before the bullets were recovered. After every student was interviewed, officials searched the backpack of Brandon Michael Morrissette. They recovered a 9 mm handgun, three loaded magazines, and a knife.

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Officials comment on the arrest of Brandon Michael Morrissette

Ohio police officials commended the student who reported the bullets in the bathroom, stating that his vigilance may have prevented a mass shooting incident. As authorities detained Brandon Michael Morrissette at the scene, students were ordered to take shelter until the arrival of more law enforcement personnel. School was subsequently dismissed, and officials conducted a thorough search of the building in order to confirm that there was no further threat.

In an official statement made at a news conference, Chester Township Police Chief, Craig Young, said that Brandon Michael Morrissette had confessed to planning an attack on the school.

He said:

"(Morrissette) admitted to using prior calculation and design in developing a plan to cause harm to students."

Young commended the actions of school officials and resource officers, noting that their thorough approach to the potential crisis may have saved several lives.

Young said:

"The decisions made by administrators and faculty on the morning of April 3 were appropriate and direct, and I have no hesitation in saying that those decisions saved the lives of students and faculty."

They further said:

Dr. Markwardt, Principal (Ryan) Patti, Assistant Principle (Victor) Puskas and countless other faculty members of West Geauga Schools should be proud of their efforts and most importantly the outcome: No students or faculty were injured."

Young noted that in the face of such a crisis, an intuitive approach by school officials is required to deal with potential attacks on a case-by-case basis.

News 5 Cleveland reported that certain parents criticized the school's approach to the situation. They argued that school officials should have locked down the premises upon the discovery of the bullets. One parent, whose student found the bullets, questioned why he was allowed to return to class after reporting the situation to teachers.

The case currently remains under investigation by Ohio authorities.