WEST MELBOURNE, Fla. — West Melbourne police arrested a man Thursday after his co-workers reported hearing him make a detailed threat to commit a mass shooting at their workplace.
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Officers responded to Mack Technologies on Technology Drive Thursday where the head of Human Resources explained that an employee, 34-year-old Marcus Jeremell Anderson, had been overheard by two employees making a threat to commit a mass shooting at the business.
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The employees said they were talking with Anderson about the recent mass shooting at a school in Nashville when he made statements about wanting to commit a mass shooting at Mack Technologies.
Anderson’s co-workers said he mentioned specific details, saying he had “17 bullets for 17 heads,” and that he had a handgun in his backpack in his locker loaded with 17 rounds of ammunition. He also said he had an AR-15 in his car.
According to police, Anderson told his co-workers he would give them a signal before he started his rampage so they could avoid harm.
He even explained he had already scouted areas throughout the building, including a location from which he could observe the actions of police as they responded.
According to police, the co-workers said Anderson even admitted to following a technician home in his car days earlier and considered murdering the technician then.
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When Anderson’s co-workers asked if he was serious, they told police he responded by saying that if he got mad enough, he would do it.
In an interview with police, Anderson tried to claim he was just joking around when he made the comments and said he didn’t have any firearms on the property.
However, police searched Anderson’s backpack, which was in his locker at Mack Technologies, and found a silver .380 handgun with a loaded magazine.
In Anderson’s car, police say they found an AR-15 style rifle with a loaded magazine and a round in the chamber. Further inspection of the rifle revealed it had no serial number, a collapsible stock, and a barrel length that violated a Florida statute for being too short.
According to West Melbourne Police, Anderson would have been required to obtain a tax stamp for the rifle, which would not have been possible without a serial number.
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Anderson was charged with being in possession of a short-barreled rifle, short barreled shotgun, or machine gun, a second-degree felony. He’s being held in the Brevard County jail on $35,000 bond.
A Temporary Risk Protection Order was also granted for Anderson’s weapons.
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