Tip from “hero citizen” thwarted July 4 mass shooting in Virginia’s capital, police say

Police in Richmond, Virginia, stated Wednesday that they thwarted a deliberate July 4 mass shooting after receiving a tip that led to the arrest of two males and the seizure of a number of weapons — an announcement that got here simply two days after a lethal mass shooting on the vacation in a Chicago suburb.

A “hero citizen” overheard a dialog indicating there was an assault being deliberate on town’s fashionable Independence Day celebration and referred to as police to report it, Police Chief Gerald Smith stated at a news convention. He didn’t know the place this dialog came about, however stated the suspects had been concentrating on Dogwood Dell, a neighborhood amphitheater. 

After receiving the tip on July 1, police initiated an investigation, together with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and FBI, which led to the arrests of two males.  

Julio Alvardo-Dubon, 52, was taken into custody on July 1 on costs of being a non-U.S. citizen in possession of a firearm. Authorities then positioned Rolman A. Balacarcel, described as Alvardo-Dubon’s roommate, below surveillance as a result of they didn’t have possible trigger to arrest him. Four days later, the 38-year-old was arrested on the identical costs. Additional costs are attainable, Smith stated.

The two suspects weren’t beforehand recognized to authorities, in line with Smith.

Officers seized two assault rifles, a handgun and tons of of rounds of ammunition from a residence the place the firearms and “related material” had been in plain view, Smith stated. It is just not but clear how the firearms had been acquired.

Alvardo-Dubon and Balacarcel had been being held with out bond at a neighborhood jail, the chief stated.

The obvious thwarted plot was deliberate for a similar day that a gunman opened hearth from a rooftop throughout a Fourth of July parade in the prosperous Chicago suburb of Highland Park, killing seven folks and injuring greater than three dozen.

Robert E. Crimo III was charged with seven counts of homicide Tuesday. The shooting despatched tons of of individuals fleeing in concern and set off an hourslong manhunt. Authorities haven’t but recognized a motive in that shooting.