Two teens charged with plotting attack at high school

The same Suffolk teen who three years ago planned a Columbine-style attack at Connetquot High School was again plotting to kill students and staff at his former school, this time with the help of his girlfriend, Suffolk police said Friday.

Plans laid in recent weeks by Christopher Franko, 17, of Bohemia, and Dana Saltzman, 16, of Commack, were detailed down to the date of the attack - June 10 - and the proper school entrance they would use to maximize fatalities, authorities said.

The pair planned to carry shotguns into the school and open fire near language arts classrooms "because the largest concentration of students are in the area," said Dep. Insp. Michael Shanahan of the Fifth Precinct. Saltzman, who has never attended Connetquot, also told police Franko had drawn a map of the inside of the school for her.

Shanahan said it did not appear the pair had any specific targets. No one else is believed to be involved.

In 2007, the then 15-year-old Franko and a friend, Michael McDonough, 17, made plans to kill students at the Bohemia school with guns and explosives. That attack was planned for April 20, the eighth anniversary of the Columbine massacre in Colorado.

Franko later pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted conspiracy, a felony. A Suffolk family court judge cited his improved behavior when he sentenced him in December 2007 to a year in juvenile detention.

On Friday, police said Franko's social worker alerted them April 28 that he and Saltzman intended to stage an attack at the school. Saltzman later allowed officers to examine her cell phone and computer, both of which contained evidence of the plot, police said. "May we kill as many as possible and teach these bastards a lesson," Franko wrote in one text message, police said.

A search of Saltzman's laptop revealed visits to websites about explosives and bomb making. There was no indication that they tried to buy bomb-making materials or construct a bomb.

At the time of her arrest, Saltzman also admitted going with Franko on March 14 to a Sports Authority store in Commack to buy a shotgun, only to be turned back because neither was 18, police said. They then planned to return on June 8 - Franko's 18th birthday.

"They were going to go back on June 8 and buy one and return on June 9 for another one and carry out the attack on June 10," Shanahan said.

Reached by phone Friday night, Franko's mother, Nancy Franko, said, "The facts are not what they seem, it's not what everyone thinks, and that's all I can really say."

In 2007, authorities said, Franko was mercilessly teased because he lived in a trailer. Police said the motive for the recent plot appeared to be continuing anger at his former schoolmates.

A Facebook page set up for two Connetquot high school students killed in a car crash last month may have also contributed to Franko's state of mind, police said. Officials believe at some point Franko wrote an unkind message about one of the teens, triggering a backlash from former schoolmates that angered him.

Officers were waiting to arrest Franko on May 6 as he was released from a Suffolk hospital. He was charged with misdemeanor conspiracy and held without bail at his arraignment at First District Court in Central Islip. Messages left for the attorney who represented him in 2007 were not returned last night. His next court date is June 8.

Residents on the block where Saltzman lives expressed shock and sadness at the allegations. Neighbors who declined to give their names said family members are quiet and keep to themselves. Saltzman has pleaded not guilty and was released without bail.

Connetquot Superintendent Alan Groveman on Friday said after Franko's previous arrest, his parents and the district agreed he would complete high school through home schooling. He graduated last year, Groveman said. "At no time was there any danger to the school," Groveman said. "It's very unfortunate that he continues to see the district as the source of his pain."

With Jennifer Sinco Kelleher and Deborah Morris