California man, 22, is arrested for ‘sending an email to the Los Angeles County Fair with a false mass shooting warning just so he could avoid going there with his parents that weekend’
- Erik Villasenor, 22, was arrested for making a false threat against a California fair
- Police said he sent an email to the Los Angeles County Fair Friday at about 3pm
- In the email, Villasenor allegedly told the fair that he had heard that there would be a mass shooting there on Sunday
- Police and FBI tracked down the email to Villasenor and arrested him that night
- Villasenor supposedly told police that he sent the email to create a commotion at the fair, so he wouldn’t need to go there with his parents
A California man was arrested for allegedly making false threats against the Los Angeles County Fair just to avoid going there with his parents.
Authorities said that the Los Angeles County Fair notified them that it had received an email Friday at about 3pm stating that there would be a mass shooting at the site on Sunday, according to KTLA.
The Pomona Police Department said they and the FBI immediately launched an investigation into the email, tracking it to Erik Villasenor, of Sylmar, California. Police and a tactical team arrived at his home and arrested him Friday night.
Police said they arrested a 22-year-old man Friday for making a false threat against the Los Angeles County Fair (file), held in Pomona, California
The Los Angeles County Fair tweeted about the incident. They received the emailed mass shooting warning on Friday at about 3pm. Erik Villasenor was arrested that evening
‘Through interviews, they were able to determine that he did send that statement to the fair, and ultimately determined it was a hoax,’ Pomona Chief of Police Michael Olivieri Jr. said in a Facebook video Saturday.
Villasenor, 22, was booked into Pomona jail for making the false threat, according to authorities.
Olivieri said that when interviewed, Villasenor said that ‘He felt that it was appropriate to send this threat, and we believe that it was with the intent that it would spark some chaos and commotion, and be captured on the media, and then he could use that as an excuse to his parents to not go to the fair.’
The police chief described the reasoning as ‘Kind of a crazy thing.’
According to police, Villasenor’s alleged email read: ‘hello, I was told that someone was planning on doing a mass shooting on Sunday at the fairground. I just wanted to inform you guys already.’
Police said that Villasenor had sent the phony mass shooting warning in an attempt to create chaos there, so he wouldn’t have to go there over the weekend with his parents
On Saturday, the Los Angeles County Fair tweeted, ‘We learned 9/13 of a possible threat. Working w/ Pomona Police & FBI were able to confirm that the threat was false. It’s illegal to make threats & the individual was arrested. Fairplex would like to express its deep appreciation for the speedy response by Pomona Police & FBI.’
The Pomona police have said that they are going to seek repayment for the time and resources that had been devoted to investigating Villasenor’s false threat.
The month-long fair, held in Pomona, California, had announced in August that it would be enhancing its grounds security with a $200,000 investment, following multiple recent mass shootings around the country. It draws thousands of visitors annually, according to reports.
Olivieri said that the fair’s security system is the ‘most robust’ he has ever seen.
Villasenor is being held on a $20,000 bail, according to KTLA.