Mass Shooting Prevented: FL University Students Alert Police Who Get Suspect & His Arsenal

Alleged suspect taken w/o incident

 

Assault rifle, lots of ammo, and telescope

From a CNN story here with this headline:

“Students who reported troubling Snapchat messages thwarted a potential mass shooting at a Florida campus, officials say”

Police in Florida arrested a student attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for allegedly “plotting to shoot up the campus on December 9^th which was the final day before winter break.”

The student, John Hagins, 19, threatened an attack similar to the 1999 mass shooting at the Columbine High School in Littleton, CO that left 13 dead, according to Chief Jakari Young of Daytona Beach PD.

Police said they got involved after two students reported worrying messages they saw on a group chat to the university's campus security team. 

After emergency responders were informed by campus security at 4:10 a.m., police rushed to where the suspect lived and detained him as he was coming out of his apartment.

Hagins said he had planned to go to a shooting range for practice and then to the campus. Hagins had a backpack that contained a collapsible rifle, magazines, and several boxes of ammunition (pictured above) when he was taken into custody.

He confessed to making the statements.

Chief Young said in a news conference: “It was a Snapchat group message that they were involved in, and they were very concerned about what was being relayed in this Snapchat group chat.”

Chief Young further said in this (NBC News video clip): “Today is the last day, today is the final exams. So this was all a part of the plan because today the campus will be packed because everybody has to be there to take their final exams. By the Grace of God those two students came forward and thwarted that plan.” 

Chief Young concluded: “He [Hagins] may want to claim that it was all a joke and he wasn't serious about it. But we don't find anything funny about discussing a mass shooting on campus. He said once he was done at that firing range, he was going to campus to enact a Columbine. I'm extremely relieved that we are not the next national media story as it relates to a mass shooting on a campus because the intent was there.”

In a later statement, the Daytona PD said that Hagins was charged with written threats to injure or kill, terrorism, and attempted first-degree homicide. He will be held without bond for all three charges until his first appearance in front of a judge.

The PD statement concluded: “Detectives are still trying to piece together the exact motive, but we have learned that Hagins was in danger of failing classes at ERAU and was also cited for a traffic infraction while on campus yesterday. The incident is still under investigation but the suspect told the police he was acting alone.”

It is unclear if Hagins has an attorney or not.

Related and in a letter to University students, University President Barry Butler said that although it was a difficult day, the security systems that are in place worked writing in part: “Law enforcement officers, Campus Safety, and our students did an exceptional job today and helped keep our community safe, and we are in their debt. There is no reason to believe there is any additional threat to the campus community.”

My 2 Cents: Great job of being alert by those two students – others should take note of that in their circles as well and act accordingly about suspects and possible acts of this kind. 

They saved lives for sure and they should be commended and probably will at least I hope they will be.

Thanks for stopping by.