"It is clear that these young men were serious about their plans," said sergeant Allen Bridges of the Hays County Sheriff Department. Three youths gave statements admitting their involvement in the plot, Bridges said.The boys, along with two other students at Danforth Junior High School, were taken into custody Friday and charged with conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit arson and conspiracy to manufacture explosives, authorities said.

Four of the youths remained in custody on Saturday; all have been expelled from their school. Authorities did not reveal the location of the fifth boy.Police did not give the name or ages of the boys. Children in US junior high schools are usually between the ages of 11 and 14.

Bridges said SWAT teams combed the school after the alleged plot wasuncovered, but that no bombs were found.

The bomb-making information had been downloaded from the Internet, Bridges said.

Bridges said the boys began planning the attack early this year at the 400-student school, with specific teachers and students on their target list alarmingly similar to the recent bloody rampage attack in Littleton, Colorado.

Bridges credited a recent discussion group on school violence with setting the Tone for exposing the alleged plot. Some students contacted school officials after hearing of the plans.

"We're trying to prevent something like that from happening in Hays County," Bridges said. "We feel very good that through that (school violence) program, the incident was immediately reported and we were able to prevent something as disastrous as Colorado."