A 17-year-old man has been arrested in Canada for allegedly threatening to carry out a mass shooting at a Pride event in Florida.
According to the West Palm Beach Police Department, the teen was arrested early Monday following an international investigation involving Toronto and Peel Regional Police, as well as the FBI.
According to reports, the teen visited video chat website Omegle and brandished what appeared to be a handgun while threatening to shoot people at a Sunday “Pride on the Block” event in Central. downtown West Palm Beach. Florida police said the teen claimed to live in the area and made anti-LGBTQ2S+ comments. Additional security was included after the threat.
Police said the gun in the video was recovered during an arrest in Ontario, and Canadian authorities have charged the teen with threatening a mass shooting. Police are expected to seek extradition to the United States, where charges are still pending. As a minor, the suspect was not named.
“People are very scared,” West Palm Beach Deputy Sheriff Rick Morris said at a news conference Monday. “The Pulse nightclub shooting is still on everyone’s mind, especially in our gay community.”
In June 2016, a gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53 more at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando.
