Local and state police followed the mom’s tip, and on Thursday, officers drove to the home of a 20-year-old man named Dylan Jarrell, just as he was leaving his house with more than 200 rounds of ammunition, a bulletproof vest, a firearm, a 100-round high-capacity magazine, and a “detailed plan of attack.” He was headed toward two school districts in Anderson County and Shelby County, the Kentucky State Police said in a press conference Friday.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that as a result of this investigation, we saved lives,” Kentucky State Police Commissioner Rick Sanders said during the press conference. “This young man had it in his mind to go to schools and create havoc.

“He had the tools necessary, the intent necessary. And the only thing that stood between him and evil … is law enforcement,” he added.