13-year-old who planned to shoot up synagogue sentenced to write book report on WWII hero

( NYPost )

A 13-year-old boy from Ohio who has admitted to planning a mass shooting at a local synagogue earlier this year was spared prison time — but still had the book thrown at him.

The youngster, who has not been named because he is a minor, was sentenced Friday to read a biography of Carl Lutz, the Swiss diplomat who is credited with saving more than 62,000 Hungarian Jews during World War II, and then pen a book report about it.

The teenager was also given a 90-day suspended sentence and a year of probation, after pleading “true” — the juvenile equivalent of guilty — to misdemeanor counts of inducing panic and disorderly conduct stemming from the foiled plot against the Temple Israel synagogue in Canton, reported the Canton Repository.

The 13-year-old allegedly discussed with a Washington state resident wanting to “burn down and shoot up” the Jewish house of worship on the social media platform Discord, according to an incident report released by the Stark County Sheriff’s Office and cited by the Repository.

The teen was said to have even obtained a map of the synagogue.

The FBI was tipped off by Discord about what the sheriff’s office called the teen’s “concerning conversations,” prompting a visit to his family’s home in Plain Township on Sept. 7.

During an interview, the boy confirmed to an FBI agent that he was a member of multiple antisemitic chat groups on the Discord app, according to the report.

An investigation into the boy’s online activities was said to have uncovered a “detailed plan” to carry out the mass shooting, resulting in his arrest and a 10-day stay in juvenile detention.  

“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.”

The boy’s family described him to the station WKYC as a church-going “good, smart kid” who had fallen under the influence of older men on Discord.

As part of his sentence handed down by Stark County Family Court Judge Jim James, the teen cannot use the internet without supervision, must continue to undergo counseling with a therapist and submit the book report on Carl Lutz to the juvenile probation department.

If he violates the conditions of his probation, he could be locked up for 80 days.