A total of 28 people are reported to have been arrested for making threats to carry out mass attacks since the 4 August shooting in Dayton, Ohio, which killed nine, and the 3 August shooting in El Paso, Texas, which targeted Hispanics and killed 22 people.
Los Angeles, California, August 22
Police say a hotel worker may have prevented a mass shooting after the worker reported that a disgruntled colleague had threatened to shoot staff and guests. Acting on the tip-off, officers arrested a 37-year-old man who was found to have high-powered weapons and ammunition at his Los Angeles home.
Rodolfo Montoya made the threat to someone he worked with at a Marriott hotel near Long Beach airport, Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna said. “Thank God that employee decided to bring that information forward,” he told reporters. Police said they seized multiple firearms including an assault rifle, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and tactical gear from his home in Huntington Beach. The assault rifle and high-capacity magazines were illegal in California, a statement said.
Source: BBC
Seattle, Washington, August 20
A Maryland man who allegedly harassed a South Florida woman with over 150 pages worth of messages threatening to kill her and all Hispanics in Miami and elsewhere has been arrested by the FBI. Eric Lin, 35, was arrested Friday in Seattle and charged with making threatening communications via Facebook toward one unidentified South Florida woman, who believed that Lin targeted her after meeting her at a restaurant she worked at in Miami.
Source: USA Today
Memphis, Tennesee, August 20
A truck driver has been arrested after saying he would commit a mass shooting at a church in Memphis, Tennessee, authorities say in newly filed court records. Thomas Matthew McVicker was apprehended in Indianapolis before the plan could be carried out, according to court papers filed Monday.
It’s the most recent case in a string of men being arrested around the country for threatening to carry out shootings. McVicker, 38, made “credible threats to conduct a mass shooting and suicide” planned for Thursday, an FBI special agent said in a sworn affidavit.
Source: Time
Daytona Beach, Florida, August 17
A Florida man has been charged for threatening to commit a mass shooting after his ex-girlfriend alerted authorities to a series of ominous text messages he sent her.
“When you look at this kid’s background, he is the profile of a shooter,” Chitwood said. “He lost his job, he lost his girlfriend, he’s depressed, he’s got the ammunition and he wants to become known for being the most prolific killer in American history.”
Tristan Scott Wix, 25, of Daytona Beach, wrote about wanting to open fire on a large crowd of people, the sheriff’s office said. “A good 100 kills would be nice,” he wrote in one message, adding that he already had a location in mind.
Source: CNN
Youngstown, Ohio, August 16
A man arrested in Ohio for threatening a Jewish community center on Instagram is an avowed white nationalist and had an arsenal of firearms and combat gear in his home when he was taken into custody, police said. James Reardon Jr., 20, was arrested by New Middletown Police on Saturday and faces charges of menacing and harassing. He’s being held on $250,000 bond in Mahoning County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court Monday.
Source: CBS
Norwalk, Connecticut, August 15
Connecticut authorities arrested a man who they said was interested in committing a mass shooting, had weapons and tactical gear, and made his intentions known on Facebook. Brandon Wagshol, 22, was detained Thursday after a tip from a citizen that he was trying to buy large capacity rifle magazines from out of state, the FBI and the Norwalk Police Department said. Wagshol has been charged with four counts of illegal possession of large capacity magazines, and is being held on a $250,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court September 6.
Source: CBS NY
Las Vegas, Nevada, August 8
A neo-Nazi with a predilection for patrolling Las Vegas streets with a semi-automatic weapon over his shoulder has now been charged with plotting an attack on a gay club and a synagogue. The FBI have arrested and charged security guard Conor Climo with planning bombings in Sin City. Authorities say the 23-year-old was “communicating with individuals who identified with a white supremacist extremist organization using the National Socialist Movement to promote their ideology.”
Source: Advocate
Articles submitted by: Spanner