August 18, 2019 | 11:00pm | Updated August 19, 2019 | 7:39am
A Florida man who recently lost his job and got dumped by his girlfriend threatened to carry out a mass shooting over the weekend — telling his ex that “a good 100 kills would be nice,” according to cops.
“I wanna open fire on a large crowd of people from over 3 miles away,” said Tristan Scott Wix, 25, in an alleged text message to his ex.
“I’d wanna break a world record for longest confirmed kill ever,” the young man added, according to police. “I need a spotter.”
Wix, a resident of Daytona Beach, was arrested Friday in Volusia County and charged with making threats to commit a mass shooting. The local sheriff’s office revealed his text messages in a press release.
“A school is a weak target,” Wix allegedly said. “Id be more likely to open fire on a large crowd of people…I already have a location (laughing cry face emoji) is that bad?”
At one point, cops said he flat-out acknowledged that he could be arrested for his words.
“Ah well even if you told someone, me saying I wanna do it and think about it is not the same as actually doing it lol,” wrote Wix. “Was kinda hoping someone would come into my life worth not doing it for, for the sake of all those people (laughing cry face emoji). I’m not crazy I just wanna die and I wanna have fun doing it, but I’m the most patient person in the world.”
Wix’s ex showed the messages to deputies and he was later tracked to a local Winn-Dixie, where he was taken into custody without incident.
Wix initially told detectives he didn’t own any firearms “but is fascinated with mass shootings.”
“When you look at this kid’s background, he is the profile of a shooter,” Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood told CNN. “He lost his job, he lost his girlfriend, he’s depressed, he’s got the ammunition and he wants to become known for being the most prolific killer in American history.”
Despite his claims, authorities reportedly recovered a .22 caliber hunting rifle and 400 rounds of ammunition at Wix’s apartment while executing a search warrant. He was being held Sunday without bond.
Wix’s arrest comes just weeks after the deadly mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas. A number of people have threatened to carry out similar rampages — with “copycats” popping up throughout the United States.
FBI officials recently told a congressional hearing that the bureau was reportedly investigating nearly 850 people as possible domestic terrorists. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released earlier this month found that nearly half of Americans believe the chances of another mass shooting happening in the next three months was “highly likely.”