REALVIDEO Three young men suspected of plotting a massacre at New Bedford High School were arraigned today. [Watch it now] This video clip is viewed using RealPlayer. Get RealPlayer | Help This and other video can be viewed directly from http://www.necn.com

The boys, who authorities say modeled their plot for New Bedford High School after the massacre in Colorado two years ago, wanted to kill each other "so it was a homicide, not suicide," according to police interviews with two other youngsters who police say were involved but have not yet been charged.

Authorities who searched the boys' homes found a variety of weapons, bomb-making instructions and Satanic materials. Dozens of officers and five bomb-sniffing dogs searched the school, but found nothing.

Nearly half the 3,300 students stayed home when school opened Monday. The plot was uncovered after a janitor found a note with plans and a student told administrators about rumors.

"When you start to think about what could possibly have happened, and the tragedy that could have taken place, you feel good that the students feel comfortable going to faculty members and that they didn't hold it in or ignore it and walk away from it," superintendent Joseph Silva said.

Eric McKeehan, 17, pleaded innocent Monday to charges of conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and possession of ammunition. He was being held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing Dec. 3.

His 15-year-old brother and another 15-year-old juvenile also were being held after pleading innocent to the same charges in closed juvenile court hearings. Dangerousness hearings were scheduled for Thursday for both of them.

Police searching the younger brother's bedroom found Satanic masks, a meat cleaver, an ax, a photograph of Adolph Hitler and a .38-special handgun, according to a report written after his arrest. They also found a bomb recipe book in a locked room in his basement, authorities said.

Police also discovered spent cartridges from five different types of guns, and torture devices including thumb cuffs. Two loose-leaf binders "depicting Satanic and death writings" were found in his bookbag, according to police reports.

The students were arrested at their homes Saturday.

Suspicions at the school were raised Oct. 17 when a student told a teacher about rumors of the plot. The following week, police questioned one of the suspects after they found bomb-making materials at property off of school grounds.

But the bomb lacked key elements that would arm it, so police could not make an arrest, said New Bedford Police Chief Arthur Kelly.

A police report shows Jones told police Nov. 13 that he and the McKeehan's often talked about "violent things" but that "it is only talk."

The mothers of the suspects defended their sons, saying the allegations against them had been exaggerated.

"My kids are good kids and this has really been blown out of proportion and you know, there's just no way anything like that would have happened," Carol McKeehan, the mother of Eric McKeehan, told the Boston Herald. She declined to comment further Monday.

Susan St. Hilaire, mother of one of the suspects, said the charges were based on rumors and hearsay.

"These kids are good kids -- all of them," she said outside the courthouse Monday, before running to her car. In an interview with the Boston Globe that ran Monday, St. Hilaire said of the three suspects, "I know they're not ready to die."

Acting Gov. Jane Swift, a mother of three daughters, said authorities responded appropriately to the threats.

"As a parent, I don't think you can overreact in this situation," she said. "Unfortunately, unimaginable things have happened in schools around our country, and we have got to take very seriously any threat."

Some students attended Monday's courtroom proceedings instead of going to school. One of them, Trisha Boucher, 14, a freshman, said that Eric McKeehan dressed in all-black "goth" style clothes, but that his attitude was like many other students at the school.

"He just looks like a normal kid," she said. "I think they're blowing it all out of proportion."