The day before, however, he apparently photographed himself with his arsenal and took the film for developing. The drugstore clerk alerted police. A search of their homes revealed bombmaking material, school floor plans, a rifle, ammunition and white supremacist drawings, police said. They also reportedly found three black trench coats similar to those worn by the Columbine gunmen. Police were tipped off by two female classmates of the boys, who said they had overhead them plotting.
Officers say they found a weapons cache, ammunition and sketches of the school.
A police officer found Getman in Southside High School's cafeteria, reportedly with a .22-cal. Ruger semiautomatic and a duffel bag containing 18 bombs and a sawed-off shotgun. An additional eight bombs were allegedly found in his home. He told at least a dozen people, including one adult, that there would be a shoot-out. When he later said he was joking, they believed him.