A 21-year-old former student of the Greenbrier School District was arrested last month after she made threats to commit a mass shooting at an elementary school.
Abilene Almanza was booked July 21 after she told an investigator “the world is a messed up place and she just wants to mess it up more through a school shooting,” according to an affidavit from the Faulkner County Prosecuting Attorney’s office.
A bench warrant was issued for Almanza on Wednesday.
The Greenbrier Police Department interviewed Almanza after the FBI provided the agency with materials related to “events being talked about on a (Discord) app about a school shooting,” the affidavit says.
During the interview with police, Almanza said she suffered from “mental issues” and that she had been “bullied her whole life by everyone, but more so in elementary school,” according to the affidavit. She discussed having thoughts about self-harm and that she bought razors to cut her wrists, the document says.
When the investigator asked about her being on probation and not owning any guns, Almanza said she had considered stealing a shotgun, a Glock pistol and another gun owned by her aunt once the school year started, the affidavit says.
Almanza’s plan involved leaving her home, located on Blossom Lane in Greenbrier, and traveling about a mile through the woods to Eastside Elementary, the affidavit says. She reportedly told the investigator that “an elementary school would be her choice to do her killing since that is where she felt the most hurt and there would be less security.”
“She had thought about doing the shooting from the fence that is on Glenn Lane but that the kids would all run away,” the affidavit says.
The investigator wrote that, “Ms. Almanza is in belief that several previous school shooters (were) like best friends to her, even though they were killed” while carrying out their crimes. Almanza told him “over and over” how she would “kill the kids” and her life would be “taken in the process,” he stated.
“I could not see any remorse for the thought patterns she was having and how she wanted it to be real life for her,” the investigator wrote.
Almanza was charged with threatening to commit an act of mass violence on school property and is currently being held on a $1 million bond in the Faulkner County jail.
If she were to be released, it would be on the condition of wearing an electronic monitor and that she could not be present anywhere where children may gather, according to online court records.
Almanza is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 10.
“We are aware of the recent arrest of a 21-year-old former student for threatening to commit a mass shooting at Eastside Elementary School,” the Greenbrier School District said in a statement released Monday. “We are thankful for federal and local law enforcement and their swift action for apprehending this individual.
“We will cooperate with law enforcement officials moving forward to ensure accountability. The district will provide information in coordination with law enforcement agencies,” the statement said.
In the statement, the district said it would continue to “to take comprehensive safety measures, including an armed police officer on each school campus.”
Daniel McFadin
Daniel McFadin is a general assignment reporter who has been with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette since October 2022. He previously worked at NBC Sports, and has also been a writer covering NASCAR for Frontstretch — which is not affiliated with the Democrat-Gazette — since 2014. Daniel also has and continues to be involved in podcasting at the newspaper.
