BY ALICIA CRUZ

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

One of the students who found a cache of weapons behind a Cumberland County high school Monday said the first thing that came to his mind when he saw what was in the bags was the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.

William Poley told Philadelphia's Channel 6 Action News he and another student, both members of Millville Senior High School's track team, were cleaning a wooded area behind the school when they came across backpacks. When the boys opened the packs and saw the weapons, which included bullets, shotgun shells and a sawed-off shotgun, they immediately turned the items over to their coach.

Millville police are asking for the public's help in locating the person or persons responsible for leaving the armament. So far, investigators have only retrieved a serial number off the shotgun, which was not reported stolen, but police are searching for the owner.

The area where the bags were discovered sits approximately 100 feet from the school's baseball field. Upon learning about the bags, school officials evacuated all athletic fields and placed the school on a lockdown status while police searched the wooded area, the Daily Journal reported.

Millville Police Detective Lt. Les Watson told Philly.com no suspects were in custody as of Tuesday, and investigators still did not know why the bag was left in the woods. The school has since reopened and is operating on a normal schedule with increased security and continuous police patrols in the area. Millville police Detective Sgt. Harold Duffield, said the students found the bag around 4 p.m. Monday. Anyone with information about the weapons should contact the Millville Police Department at 856-825-2899.

The National School Safety and Security Services of Ohio compiled a list of school deaths and school Shootings for the 2007-2008 academic years. Of the more than 20 profiled incidents, five occurred in New Jersey.

September 17, 2007: Willingboro, NJ

An unidentified male fired several shots at an elementary school prompting a two-hour lockdown. No injuries were reported.

November 26, 2007: Cherry Hill, NJ

At 7:55 p.m., a man entered the recreation area of an elementary school, shooting an adult, two men and one teenager in the stomach during a basketball game.

March 5, 2008: Trenton, NJ

Police say a “military-style plot” to kill fellow students was foiled after the 17-year-old Belvidere High School student told classmates of his plans. Police arrested 22-year-old National Guardsman, James Schipps, who police say had been hanging around with the student. Schipps was charged with three counts of making terroristic threats and hindering apprehension. CNN reported that the boy studied school security and mapped routes to escape after the attack

April 23, 2008: Atlantic City, NJ

An 18-year-old male student at an alterative school for seventh through 12th graders was shot in the leg following an argument outside the school.

March 2008: West Essex, NJ

A 15-year-old West Essex Regional High School student was arrested after police say he left threatening notes around the school. When police searched the teen's North Caldwell home, they found a stash of pellet guns in his bedroom. The boy was charged with causing a false public alarm, causing the risk of widespread injury, unlawful possession of a weapon, criminal mischief and marijuana possession. He was later committed to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation, the Star Ledger reported.

The Columbine High School massacre occurred April 20, 1999 just after 11:00 a.m. in Jefferson County, Colorado. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, both seniors at the school, entered the cafeteria armed with a 9 mm Intratec TEC-9 semi-automatic handgun, a 12 gauge Savage-Springfield 67H pump-action shotgun and other weapons killing one teacher, 12 of their fellow students and injuring 24 others. Both teens committed suicide. The mass shooting is the fourth deadliest school massacre in U.S. history and prompted an extensive debate on gun control, teen cliques, subcultures and the seriousness of bullying within our schools.

Klebold and Harris identified as gifted students, reportedly endured years of bullying before embarking on the shooting spree. A study conducted by the Secret Service found that bullying played a major role in more than two-thirds of 37 premeditated school shootings. On September 21, 2007, mourners unveiled a memorial in Clement Park dedicated to the victim's of the massacre.