A mass-casualty crime was averted at the last minute, all thanks to a timely FBI tip. 19-year-old Trinity Shockley was arrested after the FBI’s Sandy Hook Tip Line received a warning from a friend who claimed that the high school senior was planning a mass shooting on February 14 at the Mooresville High School.
The anonymous tip revealed that Shockley was an admirer of tainted shooter Nikolas Cruz, who was responsible for the deadly 2018 mass shooting in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland.
Shockley has been arrested with charges of conspiracy to commit murder and two terrorism-related charges for her alleged plans to carry out a mass shooting. She pleaded guilty on November 24 before the court, which has now sentenced her to 20 years in prison and 8 years suspended. According to an online report, Shockley’s sentence will be followed by five years of probation.
The affidavit includes proof of text messages between Trinity and an unknown person in an online chat room. She had been discussing plans for this mass murder using an AR-15 firearm, which she planned on purchasing soon. In fact, the teen had created a shrine in her bedroom with a shocking collage of mass shooters like Nikolas Cruz and Dylann Roof, whom she admired. The police, on searching Shockley’s room, found photos, buttons, and a detailed photo album featuring pictures of many other infamous mass killers.
Indiana Teen Was Planning School Shooting Until Her Friend Tipped Off FBI.
A teenager who planned to commit a mass shooting at an Indiana high school in February will serve 12 years in prison
Trinity Shockley, now 19, was arrested after the FBI’s Sandy Hook tip line was alerted… pic.twitter.com/T9v3cWqw1y
— Majestic Glow (@majesticglow) November 30, 2025
Investigators also found additional disturbing evidence, including a heart locket around her neck, which had Cruz’s picture. On the social media platform Discord, Trinity even used the handle name ‘Crazy Nikolaz’ and boasted about being the number one fan of the culprit shooter. They even found notebooks inside her bag which had the swastika symbol etched on them, along with words like ‘Kill’, ‘Bang’, and ‘I hate you all DIE DIE DIE’.
As per reports, Shockley had endured years of bullying. She also has a history of trauma caused by a brain injury after a car accident in 2022. A Campus Safety Magazine report suggests that the teenager had sought to get help for her mental health issues since her first year, but was denied because her father refused, who happened to be a U.S. military veteran. Investigators have found some of her diary entries, which underline homicidal thoughts and self-loathing, which went undetected for years.
When Shockley was charged with the felonies in court, she became emotional and apologized for her actions. She allegedly said, “I am so sorry I put you in that position of fear.” She had planned to coincide the mass shooting inside the school with the seventh anniversary of the Parkland incident committed by Cruz.
The messages she sent to the co-conspirator reveal that they had been planning for the mass slaughter for almost a year. They discussed timing and weaponry for their plans, and had zeroed in on lunch hour at the school for maximum casualties. Trinity Shockley had even ordered a bulletproof vest to carry out her plans, along with other weapons and ammunition.
A former Mooresville High School student who spent over a year planning to shoot and kill students on campus has now been sentenced to 12 years in prison and five years of probation upon release. Trinity Shockley 18, pled guilty last month in Morgan County to one count of… pic.twitter.com/BEHI5Mb7XD
— Sumner (@renmusb1) November 25, 2025
School counselors at Mooresville High had attempted to refer her for counseling. But without parental consent, they could not move forward on their own. Earlier this week, after the court hearing, the teen met a guidance counselor, to whom she confessed that her father wanted her to tough it up. She even described her interest in mass murders and that she was struggling with the death of her mother from a drug overdose.
Meanwhile, the school authorities and local law enforcement have praised the quick response in nabbing Trinity Shockley, which helped prevent the tragedy in time.
