Authorities said Alexis Pickett, 17, and Melanie Little, 17, were charged as adults after investigators concluded the two planned to carry out a mass shooting at Morristown High School in Shelbyville, Indiana, and built their case around communications shared online, according to charging documents.
Shelby County Prosecutor Brad Landwerlen said the case was triggered by concerns from Pickett’s mother, Rhonda Nicholson, who approached the sheriff’s police in December. Authorities said Nicholson reported that Pickett showed behaviors indicating she intended to harm others or herself, including online conversations that obsessed over past school shooters.
Pickett was charged in January, while Little was charged this week, according to the filings cited in the report. Landwerlen said Nicholson’s decision to alert authorities helped prevent harm, and he told parents to check what their children are doing and “the conversations they’re having,” according to the prosecutor.
Investigators described the alleged plan as unfolding largely on the communication app Discord, with a probable cause affidavit outlining what authorities said the teens discussed. Authorities said Pickett acknowledged to investigators that she had considered suicide for a long time and said she had a desire to hurt others, and the affidavit described material on her devices that included photos of the gunmen from the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Colorado.
Authorities said Pickett also suggested a mass shooting around graduation, setting out a planned date of May 25 even though graduation was scheduled for two days earlier. According to the filings, Pickett dressed for Halloween as a school shooter from a movie, and the two defendants discussed how they might obtain additional guns without reaching resolution.
The affidavit described Little’s role as connected to the Indiana school and to communications about what she would tell her parents. Authorities said Little intended to tell them that Pickett was a friend from grade school who had moved away and that she wanted to attend the friend’s Indiana commencement.
The charging documents said Pickett sent Little a video showing Morristown High School’s layout, including its hallways and dead ends. The affidavit further described that Pickett, who owns a muzzleloader firearm, showed Little photos of targets she said she had hit using a shotgun and a .357 revolver, and discussed obtaining other guns.
Both defendants face a single count of attempted murder and a count of conspiracy to commit murder, Landwerlen said; each count carries a possible sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison, according to the report. Pickett also faces a separate count of intimidation, and she is being held in jail on $1 million cash bond. Landwerlen said Pickett’s trial is set to start April 20, and a message seeking comment was left with the public defender representing her.
Little is being held in jail in Mississippi. Indiana officials have started the extradition process after Little refused to waive extradition, and a message seeking comment was left with an attorney in Corinth, Mississippi, associated with her family, according to the report.