13-year-old accused of planning a shooting at a synagogue reaches plea deal requiring him to write book report on WWII hero

By Brynn Gingras, CNN

(CNN) — A 13-year-old Ohio boy who allegedly crafted “a detailed plan” to carry out a shooting at a synagogue in September reached a plea agreement with a juvenile court Friday, requiring him to undergo counseling and write a book report about a diplomat who organized a Jewish rescue operation during World War II, according to a Stark County, Ohio, court administrator.

The teen, who has not been identified, was sentenced to 180 days in a juvenile detention center, but the judge credited him 10 days for time already served and suspended the rest of the sentence. His juvenile trial was scheduled to begin Wednesday but was canceled because of the plea agreement.

Instead, the judge ordered the teenager to be on probation for 12 months, during which time he will have to receive counseling services and is not allowed to have “unsupervised use of the internet,” according to court documents.

The teen was also mandated to read a book about Carl Lutz – a Swiss diplomat credited with saving thousands of Hungarian Jews during World War II – and “submit a book report to the probation department,” the court paperwork states.

The 13-year-old had been charged with two misdemeanor counts of inducing panic and disorderly conduct in the September 1 incident, according to court documents. An incident report obtained by CNN shows the teenager made “threats to burn and shoot up” Temple Israel in Canton, Ohio, on the social media platform Discord.

Discord said it alerted the FBI to the threats, leading to his arrest. When questioned by authorities, the teen also said “he was part of multiple anti-Semitic and political groups” on the site, the documents stated.

CNN has reached out to the teen’s attorney for comment.

“We stand by a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to threats made against our community,” Stark County Sheriff George Maier said in a statement. “Every threat is investigated thoroughly with the seriousness it deserves.

“We work diligently to ensure that those responsible are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Protecting our community is a responsibility we bear with the highest level of commitment and vigilance,” he said.

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