Authorities in Florida, Ohio and Connecticut say they thwarted three separate mass shooting plots after arresting three men in their 20s in three separate unrelated cases in the last week.
The three foiled plots come as the country continues to reel from several mass shootings, including Dayton, Ohio, El Paso, Texas and Gilroy, California.
Florida Police Arrest Man After Girlfriend Alerts Authorities to Threats Made Over Text Messages.
The first plot involved 25-year-old man identified as Tristan Scott Wix, of Daytona Beach who repeatedly texted threatening messages to his ex-girlfriend about how he wanted to open fire on a "large crowd" of people and how he wanted to break a world record for "longest confirmed kill ever." Wix wrote that he already had a location in mind and wanted a high kill count.
"A good 100 kills would be nice," Wix allegedly wrote in message.
Wix was arrested by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office in a Winn-Dixie parking lot in Daytona Beach Shores, on Friday, authorities said, posting video of the arrest to their Facebook page.
The 25-year-old wrote he wanted to die during the shooting and "have fun doing it."
“Ah well even if you told someone, me saying I wanna do it and think about it is not the same as actually doing it lol. Was kinda hoping someone would come into my life worth not doing it for, for the sake of all those people (laughing cry face emoji). I’m not crazy I just wanna die and I wanna have fun doing it, but I’m the most patient person in the world,” Wix wrote in another message.
Wix told detectives he doesn't own any weapons, but admitted to being fascinated with mass shootings.
The suspect was taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail where he's currently being held without bond. Wix has been charged with making threats to commit a mass shooting.
Ohio Man Arrested After Allegedly Threatening to Shoot Up Jewish Center
Authorities in Ohio say they have arrested a 20-year-old man identified as James Patrick Reardon for allegedly threatening to carry out a mass shooting at a Jewish community center in Youngstown, Ohio.
According to New Middletown Police Chief Vincent D'Egidio, authorities learned of Reardon's plans after an Instagram account that purportedly belongs to the suspect shared a video of a man firing a gun. The post tagging the Jewish Community Center in Youngstown. A caption on the post read: "Police identified the Youngstown Jewish Family Community shooter as local white nationalist Seamus O'Rearedon." Seamus O'Rearedon is a Gaelic spelling of Reardon's name.
D'Egidio told CNN that with the recent shootings, including one at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, they "wanted to make sure we acted very quickly on this."
It's unclear who is firing the weapon in the Instagram post. The rest of the suspect's Instagram account was filled with images of Reardon shooting or someone else shooting guns. Several anti-Semitic comments and white nationalist content was also posted to the account.
Police tracked Reardon down and executed a search warrant at his home in Youngstown around 10:30 p.m. Friday night. Police discovered a cache of weapons and ammunition.
Reardon was arrested and booked into the county jail with a bond set at $250,000. Reardon is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday morning.
Connecticut Authorities Arrest Man Who Posted on Facebook About Committing a Mass Shooting
Finally, Brandon Wagshol, 22, of Norwalk, Connecticut, was arrested by authorities on four counts of illegal possession of large capacity magazines, the city's police department said on Thursday.
Authorities learned about Wagshol after federal authorities received a tip from someone that said he was allegedly trying to purchase high capacity rifle magazines out-of-state. Wagshol was also purchasing items online that would allow him to build his own weapon. Police also pointed to posts on Facebook in which Wagshol expressed interest in "committing a mass shooting."
Norwalk Police working in conjunction with the FBI executed a search warrant on Wagshol's home where they discovered two guns registered to Wagshol's father, multiple rounds of ammunition, body armor and other tactical equipment.
“We are thankful for our partnership with the FBI and fantastic teamwork that quickly brought this investigation from a tip to an arrest” said Chief Thomas Kulhawik. “I applaud the excellent work of our officers and the FBI agents that assisted and remind people, if they see something, say something.”
"Today’s arrest demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to working closely with our local law enforcement partners to mitigate this type of threat to our area,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Brian Turner. "We continue to urge the public to please remain alert and to report to law enforcement any suspicious activity that is observed either in person or online."
Photos: Volusia County Sheriff's Department, New Middletown Police Norwalk, CT, Police Department,