Tacoma college student detained after cops alerted to potential shooting threat
Seattle police detained a Tacoma college student this week after officers were notified that the man, whom police said had become “increasingly erratic and radicalized,” posted a photo of a shotgun online and referenced a mass shooting.
The Seattle Police Department said officers received a crisis complaint about the photo posted to the online platform Discord just before 1 p.m. Tuesday, and the shotgun was linked to the student. Police said the student was “clearly modeling his ideology off of a mass murderer.”
The police did not identify which school the student attended but said university officials were quickly notified. The student has since been hospitalized and served with an extreme risk protection order, which police said prevents people at high risk of harming themselves or others from accessing firearms when there is demonstrated evidence the person poses a significant danger.
During the investigation, the police learned the man, who lives in Seattle, had left his apartment with a shotgun carrying case, according to a police blotter post. Patrol officers found the man and detained him. Police said he did not have the shotgun on his person.
Paramedics transported him to the hospital for a medical evaluation and served him with the extreme risk protection order.
The police said the man told them he buried the gun in the woods near Robinson Community Park in Bellevue. Officers searched the area and found the gun with writing scratched off. Photos shared by police appeared to show sticks and foliage covering a shotgun case that contained the weapon. Scratches covered the side of the gun above the trigger.
The police said detectives in the Crisis Response Unit are assigned to the case.
If you or someone you know needs mental health assistance, reach out to the National Suicide and Crisis Hotline by calling 988.
That is the nationwide 24-7 number for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis, thoughts of suicide, or emotional distress in the United States. It also offers guidance for how to help someone in crisis and access community resources.
