--- description: Police found a device that contained no explosives, only cinnamon and vinegar title: Fifth-Graders Had 'Legitimate Plan' to Bomb New Jersey School image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Fifth-Graders Had 'Legitimate Plan' to Bomb New Jersey School  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 3, 2015 5:09 PM CUT  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 3, 2015 5:09 PM CUT Five elementary-school students in New Jersey were arrested after police learned of a plot to bomb the assembly of a high school. Police arrested the students of Clifton Elementary School #11, ages 10 and 11, after teachers found written plans about a potential attack Clifton High School during an assembly. “It was not a prank,” Clifton police spokesperson Robert Bracken [told NJ Advance Media](http:// "undefined"). “They had a legitimate plan.” Authorities even discovered a device for the attack, though it did not contain explosives, only cinnamon and vinegar. The children were released to their parents after police questioning and have been suspended from school. “They didn’t have the right equipment, but the intent was there,” Bracken told [the Clifton Journal](http://www.northjersey.com/news/police-plot-by-clifton-5th-graders-no-prank-but-device-found-was-non-explosive-1.1466084 "undefined"). “This is very disturbing.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4134807/fifth-graders-bomb-plot-cinnamon/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4134807/fifth-graders-bomb-plot-cinnamon/"},"headline":"Fifth-Graders Had 'Legitimate Plan' to Bomb New Jersey School","datePublished":"2015-12-03T17:09:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:05:36.261Z","description":"Police found a device containing no explosives, only cinnamon and vinegar","url":"https://time.com/4134807/fifth-graders-bomb-plot-cinnamon/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4134807/fifth-graders-bomb-plot-cinnamon/","name":"Fifth-Graders Had 'Legitimate Plan' to Bomb New Jersey School"}}]}] ```