Texas Police Get It Right: Teen Arrested Before Mass Shooting, Had Called Uvalde Shooter 'An Idol'
A San Antonio teen who allegedly planned a mass shooting has been arrested.
Rodolfo Valdivia Aceves, 19, has been charged with a count of communicating a terroristic threat, according to KSAT.
The youth is being held in the Bexar County Jail.
One of Aceves’ coworkers at an Amazon warehouse reported his interest in violence to the police.
When a fire alarm went off at their workplace on Friday, Aceves allegedly told the witness that a fire alarm would be an opportune moment for a mass shooting.
He then went on to reveal that he was planning such an attack at the Amazon warehouse in question. Aceves had told the witness that he was “tired of living.”
The coworker went on to tell her Amazon supervisors of Aceves’ remarks on Monday because she was too scared of retaliation to inform anyone on Friday.
He had also allegedly told her that he considered the Uvalde school shooter “an idol.”
The teen was arrested the same day.
“Credible information to support the threat was developed during the investigation by homicide detectives,” Officer Ricardo Guzman of the San Antonio Police Department told Yahoo News.
“Based on information gathered, an employee of the location heard the suspect claiming he was going to do a mass shooting at this place of business.”
When interviewed, Aceves’ father told police that the youth had been placed in a mental institution two times when he was 16 years old, KSAT reported.
The 19-year old’s family was concerned that he had recently purchased a rifle, as background checks in Texas do not flag for juvenile’s records in mental health facilities.
Changes to federal background checks in a new gun control law open the mental health and criminal records of juveniles up for scrutiny when they’re buying a gun as an adult under the age of 21.
It’s possible the law signed into effect by President Joe Biden could have prevented Aceves from purchasing firearms.
Another provision in the law that encourages states to create extrajudicial processes to seize guns has been harshly criticized by Second Amendment activists.
A faulty law enforcement response to the shooting at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary School undermined trust between community members and the police.
In this case, law enforcement acted quickly at the first sign of a credible threat to arrest the suspect.
Communicating a terroristic threat is a third-degree felony in Texas, KSAT reported.
Aceves is being held in jail on a $50,000 bond.
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