Call of Duty Player Prevents Potential Mass Shooting In A US School

The following report contains details that some readers may find upsetting.

A 19-year-old male has been arrested in Casa Grande, Arizona, after using an in-game Call of Duty chat to allegedly threaten to carry out a mass shooting. The startling messages were brought to the attention of the FBI by a fellow anonymous Call of Duty gamer.

According to ABC15 Arizona, Joshua Adam Bowen was arrested by Casa Grande Police on 5 June after the 19-year-old reportedly made disturbing threats online. Bowen is thought to have used several Call of Duty accounts to make the threats which were later spotted by another gamer.

A series of abhorrent mass shootings have taken place across the US in recent weeks, most notably in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas. Referencing such events, Bowen reportedly took to Call of Duty on 20 May to type, “The Buffalo shooting was justified,” later adding on the 28 May that, “The Texas shooting was justified in self defence.”

On 1 June, Bowen appeared to praise the Uvalde shooter allegedly writing, “Ramos Salvador was a good man” before finally adding, “Tune in on June 10th for a Casa Grande school shooting … I’m going to kill at least 20.”

In the court documents that ABC15 Arizona reviewed, Bowen supposedly made a number of other threats including threatening to kill a relative, his ex-girlfriend and “shoot up” a cinema. The FBI National Threat Operation Centre’s formal investigation of Bowen began on 1 June, four days before his arrest.

It’s believed that the FBI reached out to Activision who may have assisted in identifying Bowen whilst also providing his chat logs. Bowen was reportedly then placed under police surveillance before his arrest on 5 June.

A statement released by Casa Grande police said, “Although there were no weapons found on Bowen at the time of his arrest, Detectives were able to identify information that leads them to believe he may have access to firearms.”

Casa Grande chief of police Mark McCrory added, “There is no doubt in my mind this individual was intent on hurting people and, ultimately, would have found a way to do it. [...] It is important to note this investigation started because Law Enforcement received a tip from a citizen. We are not immune to the issues we see across our country, but our department will be diligent in investigating all threats and will continue to encourage citizens to report this type of behaviour to law enforcement.”

At the time of reporting, Activision are yet to comment on the case.