Report: At least 26 arrested across the country for threatening mass shootings in August

At least 26 people across the United States have been arrested this month for threatening to commit acts of violence and mass shootings, according to law enforcement officials and various media outlets.

News 12 Staff

Aug 21, 2019, 5:32 PM

Updated 1,720 days ago

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Report: At least 26 arrested across the country for threatening mass shootings in August
At least 26 people across the United States have been arrested this month for threatening to commit acts of violence and mass shootings, according to law enforcement officials and various media outlets.
Many of the threats were posted online and were targeting various religious or ethnic groups. Several others were aimed at shoppers at Walmarts.
The arrests all come following two mass shooting events in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, that left over 30 people dead.
A report by CNN compiled the known threats with “publicized arrests that law enforcement agencies have investigated.”
Aug. 4: A man from the Tampa area called a Walmart and told an employee he would shoot up the store, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. The man faces a false threat charge.

Aug. 7: Police in Weslaco, Texas, arrested a 13-year-old boy. The boy will face a charge of terroristic threat for making a social media post that prompted a Walmart to be evacuated, police said on Facebook. The boy's mother brought him to the station.

Aug. 8: A man is accused of walking into a Walmart in Missouri equipped with body armor, a handgun and a rifle less than a week after a gunman killed 22 people in a Texas Walmart. The man says it was a "social experiment" and not intended to cause panic. The 20-year-old was charged with making a terrorist threat.

Aug. 9: A 23-year-old Las Vegas man is charged with possessing destructive devices after authorities found bomb-making materials at his home. The FBI says he was planning to attack a synagogue and a gay bar.

Aug. 9: A 26-year-old Winter Park, Florida man was arrested after investigators say he posted a threat on Facebook that he was about to have his gun returned and people should stay away from Walmart.

Aug. 10: Officers responded to a threat a man posted on social media, the Harlingen (Texas) Police Department said in a statement. A man was arrested at his home on charges of making a terroristic threat.

Aug. 11: A Palm Beach County, Florida mother is accused of threatening to carry out a shooting at an elementary school because her children were being moved there, according to CNN affiliate WFTS. The 28-year-old woman is charged with sending a written threat to commit bodily injury.

Aug. 11: A Mississippi teen is accused of making threats in the Lamar County School District, the agency says on Facebook.

Aug. 12: Authorities charged an 18-year-old Ohio man who the FBI says threatened to assault federal law enforcement officers and showed support for mass shootings in a post online. Court documents say that the teen had a stockpile of weapons and ammunition.

Aug. 12: A 25-year-old Jefferson County, West Virginia, man has been arrested on charges of making terroristic threats online to kill people, according to CNN affiliate WDVM.

Aug. 13: Albert Lea Police arrested and charged a 15-year-old Minnesota girl for threatening a school shooting on social media.

Aug. 13: A man was arrested in Phoenix after police say he threatened to blow up an Army recruitment center, according to CNN affiliate KTVK.

Aug. 15: A tip from a citizen led Connecticut authorities and the FBI to investigate and arrest a man who they said expressed an interest in committing a mass shooting on Facebook and had weapons and tactical gear, the FBI and Norwalk Police Department said.

Aug. 16: A 15-year-old boy was taken into police custody in Volusia County, Florida after investigators say he threatened to commit a school shooting in comments on a video game chat platform.

Aug. 16: Two Mississippi juveniles were arrested in connection with threatening messages to two Tupelo schools, placing a school in partial lockdown, according to CNN affiliate WTVA.

Aug. 16: A Florida man has been arrested and charged with threatening to commit a mass shooting after his ex-girlfriend alerted authorities to a series of ominous text messages he sent her.

Aug. 16: A 14-year-old in Arizona was arrested by Tempe police after online threats were made against a school, according to CNN affiliate KNXV.

Aug. 16: A Chicago man, 19, was arrested after police say he threatened to kill people at a women's reproductive health clinic on iFunny, a social media platform where users can post memes, federal prosecutors said Monday.

Aug. 16: A 35-year-old Clarksburg, Maryland resident was arrested in Seattle after being charged with threatening to kill people and calling for the "extermination" of Hispanics, according to a statement released by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

Aug. 17: New Middletown Police arrested a self-described white nationalist who they say threatened to shoot an Ohio Jewish community center.

Aug. 18: A man was arrested in Reed City, Michigan, after authorities said he posted online videos making threats toward Ferris State University and other locations, according to CNN affiliate WXMI.

Aug. 18: Claremore, Oklahoma, police arrested an 18-year-old who they say made social media threats against police officer families, according to a Facebook post from the Claremore Police Department.

Aug. 19: A 38-year-old truck driver was arrested after making "credible threats to conduct a mass shooting and suicide" planned for Thursday, an FBI special agent said in a sworn affidavit filed in the Southern District of Alabama.

Aug. 19: Maui police arrested an 18-year-old man after a social media post claimed he intended to "shoot up a school," according to CNN affiliate KITV.

Aug. 19: A 37-year-old Rapid City, South Dakota man was arrested and charged with threatening to blow up state and federal government agencies, Pennington County Sheriff's Office said in a post on Facebook.
There have been 263 mass shootings in the United States this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research group. The group defines a mass shooting as any incidents where at least four people were shot, including the shooter.


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