Police claim to stop three shooting plots
Officials say they thwarted plans across the U.S.
Police in three states might have prevented mass shootings over the weekend by arresting a 22-year-old man from Connecticut, a 25-year-old Floridian and a 20-year-old Ohio resident, all of whom had access to firearms and ammunition and threatened dangerous action, authorities said.
Two weeks after the massacres in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio, which left 31 people dead, law enforcement said these three young men had expressed hopes of joining the ranks of alleged gunmen Connor Betts and Patrick Crusius.
Like the three men, Betts and Crusius were recently out of school and either unemployed or intermittently employed — circumstances that often place the burden to spot a problem on those closest to the would-be shooter or, perhaps, a Good Samaritan who happens upon a social media post and reports it.
The result is that the difference between a mass shooting and an upended plan can often come down to chance, luck and a tipster. Over the weekend, several close calls were undercut this way, authorities said.
The FBI and police department in Norwalk, Conn., arrested 22-year-old Brandon Wagshol on Thursday after receiving a tip that the Connecticut resident was looking to purchase ammunition out of state. Wagshol, they learned, had boasted on Facebook about his fascination with committing a mass shooting.
A search of his home uncovered several weapons, including a handgun, a rifle, numerous rounds of ammunition and body armor and a ballistic helmet and other tactical gear, police said.
Tristan Wix, 25, was arrested Friday after sending a series of text messages elaborating on a personal goal: to “break a world record for longest confirmed kill ever,” according the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. The Dayton Beach, Fla., resident was stopped in a Winn-Dixie parking lot Friday and taken into custody, CNN reported, after his ex-girlfriend alerted local law enforcement about his threats of a mass shooting.
Wix — who told his girlfriend that he aimed to reach “a good 100 kills” — claimed in text messages to have selected the ideal shooting location, authorities said. Unlike a school, which he called a “weak target” via text, his site would enable him “to open fire on a large crowd of people from over three miles away.”
Detectives recovered a .22-caliber hunting rifle and 400 rounds of ammunition from his apartment. Wix was charged with making written threats to kill and is being held without bond at the Volusia County Branch Jail.
On Saturday, James Reardon was arrested in New Middletown, Ohio, and charged with telecommunications harassment and aggravated menacing after threatening to shoot up a nearby Jewish community center.
The 25-year-old, who self-described as a white nationalist, was outed to law enforcement via social media. Reardon’s Instagram account was riddled with anti-Semitic slurs.
New Middletown Police Chief Vincent D’Egidio said that two assault rifles, rounds of ammunition, a gas mask, bulletproof armor and anti-Semitic propaganda were recovered from Reardon’s home.