Gainesville, GA — A 16-year old white girl in Georgia has been arrested after her plans to launch an attack to kill Black churchgoers were discovered. Her classmates at Gainesville High School reportedly found the “detailed plans” she wrote in her notebook and alerted school officials to report it to police.
Police have investigated the matter and found that “the church was targeted by the juvenile based on the racial demographic of the church members,” Gainesville Police Chief Jay Parish said in a statement.
The girl, who planned to use butcher knives and other sharp weapons, allegedly researched black churches online and chose to attack the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Gainesville because it is small. She visited the church in an attempt to carry out the attack but the building was empty at that time, according to police.
“By pure grace, the church did not have service that evening,” Sgt. Kevin Holbrook told The Washington Post. “We were very fortunate here.”
Upon confirming the threat, the police took the girl in custody while she was at school and notified her parents.
“As a school system that celebrates our diversity, we are beyond stunned with the recent development,” Gainesville City Schools Superintendent Jeremy Williams told CNN. “However, we are extremely proud of our students notifying school administration of a possible off-campus threat.”
Moreover, police notified the Bethel AME Church and added security. They also believed that the girl was acting alone and no other churches were in danger.
“I’m highly alarmed that someone would feel that way and that would take these significant steps to attack an innocent person, a godly person, at a church, one of the most sacred things our society has left,” Parish said.
Meanwhile, the girl, whose name has not been released, is being held in the Regional Youth Detention Center in Gainesville. She was initially charged with an attempt to commit murder but according to reports, it was unlikely that federal charges will push through because she is a minor.