A 19-year-old Amazon warehouse employee was arrested by authorities in San Antonio, Texas after he allegedly threatened to carry out a mass shooting at his workplace.
Rodolfo Aceves was arrested and taken into custody last Monday on a charge of terroristic threat causing fear, which is a third-degree felony punishable by up to ten years in state prison.
Investigators apprehended Aceves after they received a tip and interviewed several of his co-workers at the Amazon delivery station on Sous Vide Way. Aceves’ co-workers told investigators that they allegedly heard the teen threaten to shoot up the facility, according to a press release from the police.
“Detectives were immediately notified and acquired credible information to believe the suspect’s comments were taken as a legitimate potential mass shooting threat,” according to the police.
Officers were able to swiftly track down Aceves at a different location and arrested him without incident. Police also revealed they seized an AR-15 rifle from Aceves’ location.
According to an arrest report cited by News 4 SA, a fire alarm went off at the Amazon warehouse three days before Aceves’ arrest. As workers were filing out of the building, a female co-worker said the 19-year-old told her that “it would be a good idea to pull the fire alarm and have all employees exit the building and to commit a mass shooting.”
The same co-worker told investigators that while she was giving Aceves a ride, he talked about wanting to carry out a mass shooting at a school and referred to 18-year-old Salvador Ramo, the gunman who fatally shot 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, a month earlier as his “idol,” according to the report.
When detectives interviewed Aceves’ father, the man said his son had struggled with mental illness in the past and was institutionalized at age 16.
The dad also claimed that Aceves had stopped taking his prescribed medication and that the family was living in fear of him after he had purchased the AR-15.
“This is the essence of ‘see something, say something,’” police said in the release announcing Aceves’ arrest. “If not for the witness who came forward, this incident could have resulted in a tragic outcome.”
Aceves was released from jail after posting a $50,000 bond. He is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on July 26.
