TOLEDO (WTOL) - The man arrested Monday night by the Toledo FBI office was the boyfriend of Elizabeth Lecron, who is accused of planning a mass killing at a Toledo bar.
Vincent Armstrong, 23, will appear in federal court on Wednesday after being arrested by agents at his Willow Run Drive home Monday at 5 p.m. He is being held in the Lucas County Jail.
Armstrong was charged in U.S. District Court with 1 count of providing false statements to a law enforcement officer.
In Lecron's complaint, it was noted that the Willow Drive home was searched on Aug. 19 and an AK-47, a shotgun, handguns, ammunition, and end caps that could be used to make a pipe bomb were seized.
Police say that also in August, Lecron and Armstrong also flew to visit sights related to the shooting at Columbine High School.
The tipster who alerted police about the couple noted that Armstrong’s behavior changed dramatically when he began dating Lecron. He began wearing camouflage, went to the shooting range with Lecron, and expressed an interest in a mass killing.
Law enforcement also found journal entries by both Armstrong and Lecron discussing a violent attack with one entry from Armstrong reading, “Now I have these thoughts...these memories. They haunt me. I have a vision. A vision to kill. To hunt the unwilling...”
As of Tuesday afternoon, Armstrong’s Facebook page remained public and all of Lecron’s photos had been removed, so it is not clear if Lecron and Armstrong are still dating.
According to two co-workers and Armstrong’s Facebook page, the Toledo man works in Bowling Green at Principal Business Enterprises, an incontinence products factory.
“I was so surprised. It’s freaky, actually,” said one co-worker who wished to remain anonymous but said Armstrong was a forklift driver. “We’d talk about music, going out, partying. He was a pretty normal guy. I never saw him get mad. He was goofy.”
On Monday, police searched Lecron and Armstrong’s residence as well as their vehicles, finding a duffel bag that contained a tactical vest with 2 loaded magazines for an AK-47, 2 loaded magazines for a pistol, a gas mask, printouts of instructions how to construct various bombs, and other items.
In an interview with law enforcement that same day, Armstrong denied discussing plans to launch an attack with Lecron and denied purchasing items that could be used to make a bomb.
Speculation swirled on social media Tuesday about the location of the planned bar attack. Many of the rumors centered on M Osteria Bar & Lounge on Monroe Street as a possible location because of its high-profile and two entrances. Lecron, according to her arrest complaint, was targeting locations with two entrances to minimize escape routes and maximize casualties.
Pat Giammarco, the owner, told WTOL that his employees have reviewed surveillance video and have not seen Lecron on site, and he has no idea why his bar would be targeted. He said the FBI has not reached out to him as part of its investigation. He said, though, that there are two ways to get out of the bar, but only one way in because one of the doors is locked from the inside. He added that on the weekends, there are five security officers on site.
“It’s obviously concerning to think that someone around here would do something like this. It freaked me out knowing that we could be one of the places being considered.
Armstrong is scheduled to appear in federal court at 11:30 a.m.
WTOL will continue to updated this story on air and online as developments happen.
Throughout the complaint, a second person, identified as “Suspect 1,” is identified as a co-conspirator in the attack, the person working on building a pipe bomb, and Lecron’s boyfriend.
