A man from Florida was arrested for allegedly threatening to "make Texas and Highland Park" look like "child’s play" in a threatening text message.
Ira Dennis Crosser Jr., 55, was taken into custody at his home in Cape Coral just after 2:00PM on Thursday (July 7). He was charged with one count of making a written threat to conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism.
The law enforcement said they were alerted of the threat on Thursday afternoon after a resident expressed their concerns about Crosser's alleged violent tendencies and access to weapons.
"Keep an eye out on the news I’m fixing to make Texas and highland park look likes (sic) child’s play," Crosser allegedly sent in a text message. "These are the thing that happened (sic) when people get fed up with other people’s s*** and just f***** snap."
Crosser's texts come after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which left 19 children and two adults dead after a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School.
He also referenced last week's mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, where a gunman opened fire on the crowd that had gathered to watch the Independence Day parade on July 4th.
Seven people tragically lost their lives in the attack, with dozens more being injured.
According to Wink News, Crosser told a judge on Friday (July 8) that he had no intention of harming anyone. He explained that he wrote the message in an angry outburst after a fallout with a close friend.
"I’m not that person. I have no intent, no want, no need to harm another person. I’ve grown with my mental defect to the point that I don’t even want to harm myself," he said. "I was angry because I was jealous and in fear of losing my friend, my life-long friend in Tampa.
"I made a comment. Ignorance is not an excuse. I know that there [are] bad things going on in our society," he continued.
Crosser revealed that he moved to Cape Coral to work on his mental health. He told the judge that he is willing to improve his behavior and is "crushed" because he has two dogs at home while he is behind bars.
"What’s crushing me is in this anger, I forgot that I have two loving dogs at home. And I’m being crushed with the unwillingness of what is going to happen to my children because of my anger outburst," he said.
The outlet reported that Crosser's neighbors said they will take care of his two dogs while he is locked up as he is being held in the Lee County Jail on a $25,000 bond.
He will be back in court on August 8.
Per Fox News, the police department issued a statement on Crosser, saying: "The investigation revealed that the reporting party was concerned based on Mr. Crosser’s alleged violent tendencies and access to weapons that he could carry out these threats."
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