A telephone alert received by the Richmond Police (Virginia), a few days before the celebration of July 4 in the United States, probably prevented another mass shooting during that festive day, authorities announced Wednesday.
In a joint press conference, the chief of the Richmond Police, Gerald Smith, and the mayor of the town, Levar Stoney, revealed the police operation carried out after receiving the alert and that resulted in two detainees.
An anonymous informant called the police on Friday, July 1 (three days before the celebration) and explained that he had heard a conversation in which someone claimed that a mass shooting was being prepared for the 4th of July at the Dogwood Dell amphitheater in Richmond.
In that amphitheater, with capacity for 2,400 people, festive events were held on the occasion of the US Independence Day last Monday.
Upon receiving the call, the Police went to a residence in the town where they found two assault rifles, a pistol and 223 rounds of ammunition.
The two detainees are foreigners and do not have US citizenship.
One of them was arrested on the same Friday, while the second was placed under surveillance and arrested on Tuesday.
In addition to the Richmond Police, the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also participated in the operation.
On the same day that the detainees allegedly planned to carry out their shooting, a man fired several rounds of ammunition at the attendees of the 4th of July parade in Highland Park (north of Chicago), killing 7 of them and injuring others. 39.
The 21-year-old suspect, Robert Crimo, will have to face seven charges of first-degree murder – one for each fatality – and the Prosecutor’s Office will present more indictments in the coming days in relation to the 39 injured people.