Baldwin ? Baldwin Police can breathe a sigh of relief that this weekend’s Maple Leaf Festival passed without an explosive incident.

Police in Lawrence and Baldwin were alerted earlier this month to a despondent Baldwin teenager’s writings on the Internet, which led police to believe he was planning a suicidal incident that would have injured many people, possibly during the festival.

The 15-year-old boy, whose name wasn’t released by Baldwin Police, had written about creating a diversion to draw police out of Baldwin and then using pipe bombs, a shotgun and various firearms to carry out his intentions, Baldwin Police Chief Mike McKenna said.

The boy is now in a mental health facility in the Kansas City metropolitan area, McKenna said Sunday. No weapons were found in the boy’s possession, although there was reason to believe he had tried to obtain black powder, which could have been used in making a pipe bomb, McKenna said.

“We were extremely troubled,” McKenna said of police reaction to the boy’s writings.

The messages were seen on the Web site by a Lawrence student who told his parents. The parents in turn told a Lawrence school police resource officer, McKenna said. He declined to identify the Lawrence youth or say what school he attends.

McKenna commended the youth for having “the good sense to report the writings” and the parents for calling police. Police were notified on Oct. 4, he said.

“I feel that without question these acts prevented a great personal tragedy and a great community tragedy,” McKenna said.

McKenna said he looked at the Web site, saw what the boy had written and became alarmed. He declined to publicly release the writings but said they indicated the boy planned a suicidal incident and planned to injure others “around the time of the Maple Leaf Festival.” The attack would take place after officers were drawn out of the city by a grass fire set as a diversion, McKenna said.

Prosecutors in the Douglas County District Attorney’s office also looked at the writings but determined that no charges were warranted. Police also talked to the boy’s parents.

“In fairness to them, they had no idea their teenager had such thoughts or ideas,” McKenna said.

The Web site is used by youths to post their own journals. McKenna said he didn’t know of any legal action that could be taken against the site’s owners but added that he didn’t believe it was a good idea for other possibly troubled youths to see some of the writings.

“It’s just not healthy for somebody who is already experiencing depression,” McKenna said. “I don’t see anything where this (Web site) serves a purpose.”

The boy seemed depressed because he thought a lot of people were out to harm him, McKenna said.

“I think this young person perceived that everyone was picking on him,” McKenna said.