A Utah man was arrested over the weekend after he allegedly made threats on social media, promising indiscriminate violence against women because of his anger over being celibate, and claiming that he would be the “next mass shooter.”
WGN-TV reports that Christopher Wayne Cleary, 27, was arrested after the Provo Police Department was alerted about threats Cleary had made on a Facebook page.
The news station obtained documents from the Utah County Sheriff’s Office showing that Colorado police had contacted Provo police regarding alleged Facebook threats, specifically the below message posted to the suspect’s Facebook account threatening to kill women.
“All I wanted was a girlfriend, not 1000 not a bunch of hoes not money none of that. All I wanted was to be loved, yet no one cares about me I’m 27 years old and I’ve never had a girlfriend before and I’m still a virgin, this is why I’m planning on shooting up a public place soon and being the next mass shooter cause I’m ready to die and all the girls the turned me down is going to make it right by killing as many girls as I see.”
According to the report, authorities were particularly alarmed at the threats of violence targeting women because of planned women’s marches across the country that same day.
Investigators were reportedly able to obtain an IP address for the suspect and trace his cell phone to a McDonald’s in Provo, where he was arrested. Once in custody, Cleary reportedly admitted to creating the above Facebook post, but said that he had later taken it down, in response to comments about the post.
The suspect is facing a felony charge of threat of terrorism, as well as a probation violation. Cleary was reportedly booked into the Utah County Jail; the report does not specify whether he is being held without bail.