TOLEDO, Ohio — A Maumee man was indicted by a federal grand jury in March following an FBI investigation that showed he had threatened to commit a mass shooting out of the state, according to court records.
On Feb. 5, the FBI identified a Twitter user who had posted a screenshot of a conversation with an anonymous user on an internet chat platform. The anonymous user was later identified as Lucas County resident Ryan James Gagnet.
Gagnet wrote, "Hi. It's going to be even more scary tomorrow. Because I'm going to be on the news. Commit a mass shooting. In Illoinis," records show.
Two days later, the IP address on the date and time the message was posted led the FBI to Gagnet. A special agent interviewed him and he stated, "Maybe 3 days ago (...) I was wearing a mask, and I was telling people that ah that there may be a mass shooting at some point...then I would just see how they ah their frightened reactions," court records read.
During the interview, records show that Gagnet added, "It was a one ah night thing... I may have talked to a dozen or so... I would say... do you want to see my face? And then they would say yes. And then I would say, well you are going to see my face on the news... And they would say why?... And I would say... because of what I am ab-going to do."
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Records also reflect the impact the threat had on Shorewood — a village of 18,000 residents. Aside from having 10 police officers work overtime, costing taxpayers $1,872, nearly all schools in town operated on a soft-lockdown basis for two days and some parents pulled their children from school on one or both days, according to an affidavit filed in Gagnet's case.
"Notification was made to numerous schools, which created panic throughout the Shorewood, Minooka and Joliet area. As a result, the Shorewood Police Department became overwhelmed with calls and demands for information from the public regarding the threat," the affidavit read.
Gagnet was indicted for transmitting a threatening interstate communication.
"Any post that threatens the lives of other swill receive a prompt law enforcement response," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric Smith. "Citizens need to be able to go about their everyday lives without the fear of being a victim of a mass shooting. Law enforcement will continue to collaborate and utilize all necessary resources to protect others, it is our number one priority."