Arizona teen arrested and charged with threatening mass shootings
Arizona man, 19, who ‘praised Uvalde massacre and threatened multiple mass shootings at a school, movie theater and police station’ is arrested
- Joshua Adam Bowen, 19, was arrested on Sunday in Casa Grande, Arizona
- Cops say he made various threats online to commit a mass shooting
- Bowen allegedly threatened a high school, police station, and movie theater
An Arizona teenager has been arrested after police said he made online threats to commit a mass shooting and expressed admiration for the deadly school massacre in Uvalde, Texas.
Joshua Adam Bowen, 19, was arrested on Sunday in Casa Grande on charges of making a terrorist threat. He is being held in the Pinal County jail in lieu of a $150,000 bond.
The Casa Grande Police Department said in a statement the FBI first alerted local cops to online comments made by Bowen.
Police say that Bowen made various threats to harm people by committing mass shootings at a local high school, police station, and movie theater.
Joshua Adam Bowen, 19, was arrested on Sunday in Casa Grande on charges of making a terrorist threat after allegedly boasting online of plans to shoot up a school
He also allegedly threatened family and friends and praised the recent school shooting in Uvalde, where 19 kids and two teachers were killed in the deadliest US school shooting in nearly a decade.
Cops say they placed Bowen under surveillance after getting the FBI tip and took him into custody without incident.
Investigators admitted that they did not find Bowen in possession of any weapons at the time of his arrest, but claim to have information that leads them to believe he may have access to firearms.
‘There is no doubt in my mind this individual was intent on hurting people and, ultimately would have found a way to do it,’ said Casa Grande Chief of Police Mark McCrory.
‘Fortunately, we have great support at the local, state, and national level to identify these threats and in this instance these relationships functioned exactly as they should, and we were able to work together to stop a serious threat to our community,’ he added.
The police chief noted that the investigation into Bowen was first launched based on a tip from a concerned citizen.
It follows a wave of sick copycat threats after the deadly May 24 mass shooting at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde. A memorial is seen outside the school above
‘We are not immune to the issues we see across our country, but our department will be diligent in investigating all threats and will continue to encourage citizens to report this type of behavior to law enforcement.’
The case has been forwarded to the Pinal County Attorney’s Office for a charging decision.
It follows a wave of sick copycat threats after the deadly May 24 mass shooting at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde.
In an updated advisory on Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security warned of potential copycat attacks.
‘Individuals in online forums that routinely promulgate domestic violent extremist and conspiracy theory-related content have praised the May 2022 mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas and encouraged copycat attacks,’ the DHS advisory said.
‘Others have seized on the event to attempt to spread disinformation and incite grievances, including claims it was a government-staged event meant to advance gun control measures.’
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