Neil Trescott, Maryland Mass Shooting Suspect, Arrested

Neil Trescott, of Crofton, Maryland was arrested on Thursday for emergency mental health evaluation after threatening to shoot up his workplace if he was fired.

Authorities have arrested Neil Trescott, who referred to himself as “a joker” and threatened to shoot people at his former workplace in Prince George’s County, investigators said Friday.

The investigators said that the Trescott called Pitney Bowes this week and threatened to carry out a shooting there.

“I am a joker. I’m going to load my guns and blow everybody up,” the man said over the phone to a man at Pitney Bowes, according to a warrant. 

Police there found more than 20 rifles and handguns and 40 steel boxes of ammunition at his home, the investigators said.

This comes just after a mass shooting in Aurora Colorado happened at a movie theater during the midnight showing of the new batman movie, where James Holmes killed 12 people and injured over 50 more.

Pitney Bowes said in a statement that the suspect arrested was an employee of a subcontractor to Pitney Bowes. He has not been on any Pitney Bowes property in more than four months.

“What we believe was significant threat has been averted,” Prince George’s Police Chief Mark McGaw said.

Authorities wrote in an affidavit that they believed that Trescott was referencing the movie theater shootings in Colorado when he called himself a joker.

In Aurora, Colo., 12 people were killed and 50 others wounded during a midnight showing of the new Batman movie.

Anne Arundel County police officials said Trescott was calm and cooperative when he was arrested. Police evacuated some nearby apartments when they searched Trescott’s home.

Police said they do not yet know where or when Trescott bought the weapons. They have not yet interviewed him.

He has not yet been charged.