Texas teen threatened mass killing at GOP youth conference in Florida: FBI
Alejandro Richard Velasquez Gomez ( KSAT)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - A Texas teen now faces federal charges for allegedly threatening a mass killing at a GOP youth conference in Florida according to the FBI.
According to a federal complaint, 19-year-old Alejandro Richard Velasquez Gomez of San Antonio allegedly made social media posts that the FBI determined had similar language to a video posted by mass shooter Elliot Rodger, as first reported by KSAT.
The FBI says that Gomez’s plan was to execute a "day of retribution" similar to when Rodger killed six people and injured 14 others by gunshot, stabbing and vehicle ramming in California, then killed himself.
The complaint says Gomez threatened "revenge" on the attendees of Student Action Summit, hosted by the conservative group Turning Point USA in late July. Gomez had also posted photos of himself on social media holding a CPAC name tag bearing his name, which lead the FBI to locate him through law enforcement databases.
Gomez had also purchased a plane ticket from Austin to Tampa, Florida, on July 22 but then canceled his flight the night before, according to the complaint.
Gomez was arrested on July 22 on a Tampa arrest warrant charging him with making written or electronic threats to kill, do bodily injury, or conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism, the complaint said. A federal search warrant executed on his phone also revealed images of child pornography.
Gomez allegedly told the FBI he had "intended the post to evoke Elliot Rodger and was familiar with Elliot Rodger due to extensive online research."
Gomez is charged with threatening interstate communications and possession of child pornography.