Photo: Barnstable Police Department / YouTube
Authorities can never be too careful.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on Jun 01, 2022
A 29-year-old man who lives Hyannis, a village in the Cape Cod, Massachusetts, was arrested by police after they were made aware of several alarming posts he made on Facebook.
Authorities located Justin Moreira after getting past the locked door of his basement bedroom in his mother’s home.
Moreira reportedly knew exactly why the police had come knocking for him.
“Is this my post about shooting up a school?” Moreira allegedly said to the officers, according to the prosecutor.
Justin Moreira allegedly posted school shooting threats on Facebook days prior.
Moreira was arrested on Saturday after responding to concerning reports from a woman who saw his posts on Facebook threatening to commit a shooting at a school. On Tuesday, the prosecutor read the post to the court, as reported by Boston 25 News.
“I hate you all so much. If you see me on the news for a school shooting, 57 students and teachers injured, or one pops up and never becomes solved, don’t be surprised,” he wrote, according to the prosecutor, ending it with a smiley face emoji.
After Moreira’s mother answered the door for law enforcement, she led the police officers down to the door of her son’s bedroom, where he had locked himself inside, refusing to come out.
Another family member came and unlocked the door, which led to a struggle between the police officers and Moreira, according to the prosecutor who said: “he was taken to the ground and put in cuffs.”
A silencer attachment and a bullet casing were the only incriminating pieces of evidence found in Moreira’s room, according to the prosecution.
Considering the recent series of mass shootings, authorities can never be too careful.
Moreira allegedly told officers as he was being put in the police cruiser that “he just wants to scare people and it was a mistake. He said he had no intention of shooting up a school,” according to the prosecutor.
Prosecutors also brought up the defendant’s lengthy criminal background which includes a federal conviction and prison time for an ATF (Alchohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) case related to possession of a firearm and a suppressor.
“When you look at what it is that’s posted, I would suggest that it’s consistent with someone who is dealing with their own demons - drinking, drugging - sitting at the desk and posting something. He doesn’t say kill, he says injured” the defense attorney told the court.
The defense attorney claimed that he was struggling with drug and alcohol problems, all while “He’s been trying to find a job but does not have a job.”
The prosecutor asked for a $1 million dollar bail, citing previous probation issues as well as his criminal history, while the defense asked for a “reasonable bail” and supervision.
The judge set Moreira’s bail to $100,000 and ordered GPS tracking for him.
The judge also ordered that Moreira is not allowed to use the internet while his case is pending and that he’s due back in court at the end of the month.
This marks another incident in the rising tensions of a country plagued by a mass shooting crisis, just eight days after the Uvalde elementary school shooting that rocked the nation.
It’s unknown if the rise in threats is coming from higher amounts of reporting, from the evil people who see the shootings as inspiration, or if the police are starting to take these threats more seriously.
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. He is a graduate of Rutgers University. Keep up with his rants about current events on Twitter.