"If there's a possibility to save even one -- one person, one child -- I think it's worth it," said Schubert.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on July 22, 2022. It has since been updated.
Trigger Warning: This story mentions mass shootings which may be disturbing to readers.
Though it is difficult for a mom to see her son behind bars, Nichole Schubert felt her son and the people around him, would be safer that way.
She made the extremely difficult decision to call the cops on her son after she learned that he was planning a killing spree and attack on his school and home, according to Good Morning America.
Schubert first shared her story with The Wall Street Journal. While cleaning her home in 2019, she discovered her son's journal with details about how the 17-year-old planned to kill his mother, at home, before attacking Washington high school, where he was a senior at the time.
"It was very descriptive," Schubert recalled in the interview. "It was just heartbreaking. I didn't, I didn't really want to know the details." She then said that the contents of the journal destroyed her.
Nichole Schubert said she was cleaning her home in 2019 when she found her son's journal with plans that outlined how he would kill her at home first and then attack his Washington high school, where he was a 17-year-old senior at the time. https://t.co/1XBzQH1j8C
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) July 21, 2022
"That's my child, I, I gave birth to him, you know. It hurts a lot. It still hurts," she said. But, she went ahead to alert the cops about her son's plans.
She said that though her parental instinct was "to protect your child," she knew it wasn't about them. "It was about a whole school -- hundreds of people, hundreds of kids, children," she said. So at the time, "I felt like if he is actually going to do these things, he would be safer in jail," she added.
She doesn't regret making the tough choice to turn her son in because "I believe I saved lives," she shared.
Since then, Schubert has been sharing her family's experience in an effort to stop another school shooting or another similar tragedy. "If there's a possibility to save even one -- one person, one child -- I think it's worth it," said Schubert.
I admire Nichole Schubert so much for turning in her son who was planning to shoot up his school. I would do the same even though my relationship with my child would never be the same again. It's worth it to save other children. #gma
— Rain Goddess (@GivLivLuvGro) July 21, 2022
Later, the mother handed her son's notebook to the cops and informed them that she had previously discovered what she believed was a homemade pipe bomb in her son's room. He was arrested and pleaded guilty to a felony charge for threatening to bomb or injure property as well as misdemeanors for harassment.
However, he claimed the journal entries were fictional and not an actual plan.
With so many instances of mass shootings, Schubert wants parents to "be aware and watch for signs." Stating that the children may not like any interference, she said that "as parents, it's our job to know what our kids are doing."
Giving her own example, Schubert said that he is not in jail and everyone else is alive because though she hated it, she was in his room all the time. She says no one can "control our children's actions all the time." But it is possible to spot the signs that something's not right, something's, you know, why is he acting weird? Why? Why is he so to himself?" she continued. "I was in his room, you know? What are you doing? Where are you going? All the time. And he hated it. But he's alive. And everyone's alive and he's not in jail."
Since his arrest, the teen is now working. He hopes to attend college when he is out and has not run into any trouble with the law.
"You just pray. You just pray that God ... helps them make the right choices through life. Because what else can you do? He's over 18 now," she said. "He's my child. I love him unconditionally. I'll always be there for him. I'll always love him no matter what he does."
References:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/school-shootings-should-parents-call-police-11657465830
Cover Image Source: YouTube | Good Morning America
