DELAND -- Volusia County School District officials said a program aimed at getting students to speak up about bullies in school helped foil a murder plot at DeLand Middle School.
Three 13-year-olds were arrested Friday, taken to the Regional Juvenile Detention Center, and charged for plotting to kill students and commit suicide, Columbine style. See previous story.
One middle school student spoke up and told officials about the plot, which was posted publicly on MySpace.com.
Some students said the bully-proof program did not urge the 13-year-olds to speak up about bullies, angering them to the point of coming up with the plot.
"They went to MySpace, and they kind of came up with a retaliation, and we tell our students that retaliation is not the answer to bullying," said Dr. Amy Hall, a guidance counselor at DeLand Middle School.
School district officials said bully incidences at the school have gone down by as much as 40 percent since the program was implemented this year.
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