TUCSON, Ariz. — Police have arrested a 27-year-old man who allegedly threatened to use an "AR-15" to commit a "mass shooting" at the University of Arizona campus.
Michael Pengchong Lee of Tucson was taken into custody Monday after investigators uncovered troubling Snapchat messages he allegedly wrote that targeted the university.
The messages warned there would soon be "mass tragedy and atrocity at the UofA." Investigators believe the messages specifically targeted the university's fraternity and sorority members.
"The day of Retribution is upon us, I shall get revenge on all the chads and stacies," one message stated.
Another message referenced the upcoming 10th anniversary of the crimes committed by Elliot Rodger, who killed six people near the University of California-Santa Barbara campus in 2014.
"im gonna do it guys, my mind is made up and there's nothing u can do or say to stop me," another Snapchat message stated.
The University of Arizona Police Department was made aware of the messages Sunday night and worked with the FBI to identify the suspect, the university said.
After he was detained, Lee allegedly told investigators that he wrote the Snapchat messages to "vent" with friends and acknowledged that making these types of threats is wrong, court records show.
Lee's arrest comes only one year after a UArizona professor was murdered on campus allegedly by a former graduate student. An independent review of that deadly incident determined university officials missed red flags before the professor was killed.
Tucson was also the location of a deadly mass shooting in 2011 that took the lives six people and wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords.
What is the Valley?:
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
- Mesa
- Chandler
- Scottsdale
- Tempe
- Glendale
- Surprise
- Peoria
- Gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Litchfield Park
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
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