(USNewsBreak.com) – Holidays are hectic times for travel and can draw the attention of bad actors who take advantage of the chaos to carry out their crimes. That’s exactly what a 19-year-old from Florida was allegedly planning to do. Now, authorities have charged him with a federal crime.
On Friday, December 8, the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida issued a press release detailing a criminal complaint filed against 19-year-old Robert Trout III of St. Petersburg, Florida. Prosecutors accuse the teen of posting a video on social media where he laid out his threat to travel to the Big Apple and “cause havoc on the subway” by shooting people indiscriminately. Making matters worse, he allegedly threatened to attack on Thanksgiving, a busy travel day, and warned people not to take the subway that day.
Florida teen accused of threatening mass shooting in New York City subway https://t.co/d7ZZyHdJYv
— Fox News (@FoxNews) December 11, 2023
In the video, Trout reportedly backed up his threat by displaying several firearms, including semi-automatic weapons and extended clips that could fire up to 60 shots, which he said could lead to “sixty people dead” in his recorded threat. Authorities arrested Trout on December 7, and a judge ordered him detained until his next hearing, which the court scheduled for December 18.
Prosecutors charged Trout with a single count of knowingly transmitting in interstate commerce a true threat, which carries a maximum prison sentence of five years. Both the FBI and Pinellas Park Police Department investigated the case and identified Trout as the man in the video. The teen is also facing a concealed weapons charge. Police previously arrested him in 2022 for allegedly pointing a gun at a man, but he avoided trial by entering a pretrial diversion program.
An MTA spokesperson in New York City addressed the issue and relayed to travelers planning to use the transit system that the Authority found “no specific credible threats” to the Big Apple.
Copyright 2023, USNewsBreak.com
