Boston police arrested two Iowa men and confiscated a rifle, shotgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition after they learned through social media the two had allegedly threatened attendees at this weekend's Pokemon World Championships at the Hynes Convention Center.
Eighteen-year-old Kevin Norton and 27-year-old James Stumbo were arrested Friday on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and other firearm related charges, Boston police said. They are expected to be arraigned at Boston Municipal Court tomorrow, cops said.
Boston police personnel with its Boston Regional Intelligence Center, or BRIC, received information from security at the Hynes Convention Center Thursday of threats on social media. Stumbo and Norton were stopped trying to enter the event on Thursday, police said. They had driven from Iowa. They were released while investigators waited for approval of a search warrant on the vehicle they were in, officials said.
On Friday, upon execution of the warrant, detectives recovered one 12-gauge Remington shotgun, one DPM5 Model AR-15 rifle, several hundred rounds of ammunition, and a hunting knife. An arrest warrant was issued for the two suspects who were nabbed at the Saugus Hotel with the help of Saugus police.
BRIC Commander Superintendent Paul Fitzgerald said, "The relationship between police and private sector security is important in both our community policing philosophy, as well as our counter-terrorism strategy. This incident is a good example of private security reaching out to their local Boston police district and relaying information to detectives and BRIC analysts in order to identify the very real threat. The BPD detectives did a great job in the stop and prevention of a potential tragedy."
According to the tournament website, the Pokemon Championships is a invitation-only even that began Friday and runs through today. The website says it's giving away $2 million in scholarships and thousands of dollars worth of prizes.
Via: Boston Herald
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