JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Police say they stopped a man from carrying out a planned mass shooting at a Florida Islamic center.
Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams announced Monday that police arrested 69-year-old Bernardino Gawala Bolatete after he tried to buy a gun silencer from an undercover officer.
Police began investigating Bolatete after receiving a tip from a confidential source that Bolatete was planning a mass shooting at the Islamic Center of Northeast Florida.
An undercover officer contacted him and arranged the sale of the silencer. During taped conversations, Bolatete repeated his plans for the shooting.
He was arrested Friday after the silencer was delivered.
Williams said Bolatete already had the weaponry necessary to carry out the attack.
Bolatete is being held by the FBI and more charges could be filed. It was not known if he has an attorney.
Is it radical Islamic terrorism if it is terror targeting Muslims?
A white guy. Shocking.
I wonder if the undercover cop was from that agency that’s in “tatters”?
(If I remember correctly it’s called the Federal Bureau of Investigation.)
Be interesting to know if his weapon included a bump stock. You know Congress was going to get RIGHT ON that issue right after the Vegas shooting. I guess they got distracted trying to get Roy Moore elected and lying to Susan Collins about protecting Medicare, and telling America they would be getting big tax cuts.
Why did he need a silencer ( which does not silence a firearm ) if he was going to walk in and spray the joint? That Islamic center is about 2 minutes from the Regency Square Duval Sherriffs hub. I’d scratch it off my list if I had plans of surviving that mess.