A Florida man has been charged with threatening a mass shooting after his ex-girlfriend alerted authorities to text messages he had sent her.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that 25 year-old Tristan Scott Wix of Daytona Beach had sent several messages about a possible shooting, writing in one that “a good 100 kills would be nice” and claiming he already had a location planned.
In another message, police said, Wix wrote: “A school is a weak target.. id be more likely to open fire on a large crowd of people from over 3 miles away.. I’d wanna break a world record for longest confirmed kill ever.”
Police arrested Wix Friday in a grocery store parking lot. It was not immediately apparent if Wix obtained a lawyer.
He initially told detectives that he was fascinated by mass shootings but did not own any firearms, according to the Sherriff’s Office.
But Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood told CNN Sunday that authorities had found a .22-caliber hunting rifle and 400 rounds of ammunition in Wix’s apartment.
Chitwood described Wix’s ex-girlfriend, who showed his messages to police, as “a real hero.”
“When you look at this kid’s background, he is the profile of a shooter,” Chitwood said. “He lost his job, he lost his girlfriend, he’s depressed, he’s got the ammunition and he wants to become known for being the most prolific killer in American history.”
Wix’s arrest came hours before Ohio police arrested another man in his early 20’s over threats to carry out a mass shooting. Police say James Patrick Reardon, 20, tagged a local Jewish community center in an Instagram vide of a man firing a rifle, allegedly captioning the post, “Police identified the Youngstown Jewish Family Community shooter as local white nationalist Seamus O’Rearedon.” O’Reardon is scheduled to appear in court Monday.
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Write to Ciara Nugent at ciara.nugent@time.com