Two college students helped prevent a school shooting in Florida by getting a tip off from a messaging service.
John Hagins was arrested in Daytona Beach, Florida on Thursday for planning a shooting on the campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Less than two weeks after a shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan which killed four students and injured at least seven others, Hagin's arrest comes.
The Daytona Beach Police Department was warned of the potential threat by campus security after two students reported they were very concerned by the messages from Hagins.
Police found a backpack in his apartment that contained a rifle and several boxes of bullets. Hagins wrote on social media that he was going to use the gun on campus and that he sold his car to purchase the gun.
Young said in a press statement that there could have been a tragedy today. The students reported it to the school, which allowed us to get to work and take Hagins into custody before he could carry out his plans. We thank them all for their actions.
The Daytona Beach Police Department said that Hagins was performing poorly in his classes and had been involved in a traffic violation the day before he was arrested.
After processing, Hagins will be taken to the Volusia County Jail, where he will be held without bond on charges of attempted first-degree murder, terrorism, and written threats to kill.
If you see something, say something, that's the point I want to drive home. Young said in a press conference on Thursday morning that this is the way to combat what's going on in this country.
The credit goes to the two students who came forward and brought this to our attention, he said.
According to a lawsuit filed against the school, the suspect in the Oxford High School shooting posted allusions to violence and death on his social media accounts before the event.
The lawsuit states that prior to the November 30, 2021, incident, Ethan Crumbley posted threats of bodily harm, including death, on his social media accounts, warning of violent tendencies and murderous ideology.
According to the lawsuit, on the night before the shooting, Crumbley said "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." See you tomorrow.
