Man allegedly planning State High shooting told friends months prior

Yahoo

01-05-2025

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (WTAJ) — Braeden Phillips, the man arrested and accused of planning an attack on State College High School was in court Wednesday.
A preliminary hearing was held over Zoom after a storm left widespread power outages Tuesday that included the Centre County Courthouse.
When police arrested Phillips, potentially thwarting a school shooting, they applauded the community member that alerted them to his alleged planned attack. They said this highlighted the importance of, 'If you see something, say something.'
But at Wednesday's hearing, the courts learned more about how many teens and young adults close to Phillips could have said something sooner.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Arrest made over 'planning an attack' on State College Area High School
According to four different witnesses, all somehow involved with Phillips' friend group, the 20-year-old first mentioned a 'plan' to commit a shooting at state high back in February, when he took a Glock pistol to a friend's house. That friend told the court that the gun was a 'switch gun,' or a pistol modified to be turned into a machine gun.
The State College Police Department investigating Phillips said law enforcement found ammunition commonly used with assault rifles when they searched Phillips' home, but did not find the gun.
All four of the teens and young adults who took the stand said that, for months, they thought Phillips was joking. They said when they realized he wasn't, they were too afraid of retaliation from not only Phillips, but other adults like the police and school officials, to report it. But when one of the witnesses told his parents in March about the plan, the allegations still went unreported to police.
Phillips continued to discuss his plans with these friends, they told the judge. They said he discussed who he planned to shoot and even asked his friends who they would shoot if they had the opportunity.
Defense argued that bail should be set for Phillips. His lawyers said there was never actually a plan to commit the shooting. While police recovered a BB gun designed to look like a Glock, the defense said that the lack of a real gun is evidence of the lack of a plan to actually attack the school. But the Commonwealth argued that because the gun hasn't been found, Phillips could still have access to it. The judge denied bail again.
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