Woman who warned police of armed man at Comicon says she’s still ‘not a hero’

“This isn’t the fantasy world nor the world we once lived in my friends.” RAYKO DIG WARNED POLICE OF ARMED MAN AT COMICON

A woman whose phone calls to police in California prompted Thursday’s arrest of a heavily armed man at Phoenix Comicon is encouraging people not to ignore warning signs of dangerous and threatening behavior.

In a public Facebook post, Rayko Dig of Los Angeles said she gave authorities working on the case 40 screen shots of messages she said were sent by 29-yearold Mathew Sterling of Mesa on Thursday as he sat on the second floor of the Phoenix Convention Center.

Sterling’s messages to Dig indicated he was armed and wanting to harm police officers, the Phoenix Police Department said in a statement released Thursday. He had also been taking photos of officers working the event.

Dig contacted authorities after noting Sterling’s messages.

Only 11 minutes passed between the time Dig contacted authorities in Hawthorne, California, to the time Sterling was arrested at the Convention Center after briefly resisting arrest, court records said.

Dig, on her Facebook post, urged others to be vigilant.

“This isn’t the fantasy world nor the world we once lived in my friends,” Dig wrote. “I’m not encouraging us all to live in paranoia. But please don’t ignore the signs.”

Court records indicated that Sterling was mentally disturbed. At his initial court appearance, Maricopa County Deputy Attorney Ed Leiter said Sterling indicated he was “going to have a showdown and kill God knows how many more cops.”

Police say that Sterling was also targeting Jason David Frank, an actor and mixed martial artist who is best known for his role as the original green Power Ranger and who was appearing at the convention Thursday.

Police said Sterling “set a calendar reminder in his phone to alert him to kill the victim at Comicon on May 25th.”

Leiter said that the incident put everyone at Comicon in danger.

“He exhibited a dramatic threat to the community beyond police officers, beyond Jason David Frank,” Leiter said. “A number of other people were referenced as possible targets or people he wanted to kill.”

Dig, who did not explain how she came to know Sterling, encouraged her Facebook followers to be diligent and look out for themselves, their loved ones and even strangers.

“I am still just a chosen messenger not a hero who may have stopped another Manchester (Thursday),” she wrote, emphasizing the importance of taking threatening messages and posts seriously.

Sterling was arrested at the Convention Center and was found to be in possession of two .45-caliber handguns, a .454-caliber handgun, and a 12-gauge shotgun, all fully loaded; a combat knife; pepper spray; and throwing stars.

His arrest forced an immediate ban on props that appear to be weapons and caused long lines to get in the event, as stricter security screening measures were put in place.

Sterling faces charges of attempted murder, three counts of aggravated assault, wearing body armor during the commission of a felony, resisting arrest, and carrying a weapon in a prohibited place, according to a Phoenix police statement.

His bond was set at $1 million at the request of the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

His next court date is June 2.