On Friday night, 29-year-old Alex Barron was arrested after allegedly making a threat on social media alluding to a possible attack at a Walmart in Horizon City, Texas, says Associated Press .
According to the article, Barron shared a photograph of a weapon on a social media page and used the hashtags “watchoutwalmartimcoming” and “droplikeflys.”
The FBI’s El Paso Field Office received the tip at approximately 8 p.m. on Thursday, according to the El Paso Times . The article also claims the threats came from both Horizon City and Chaparral, New Mexico.
After receiving the tip, the FBI worked alongside the El Paso Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to procure search warrants and arrest Barrow on Friday evening.
The article does not specify what weapon was shown in the photo, but it was likely a gun.
As of Saturday, Barron was being held in the El Paso County Jail. He is expected to go to trial before a U.S. magistrate judge on Monday.
“This incident should serve as a reminder that the El Paso FBI has zero tolerance for anyone who threatens to do harm to others, especially after August 2019, anyone who makes a social media post threatening to be a potential active shooter should expect to be identified and prosecuted,” Special Agent in Charge Luis M. Quesada said, as reported by the El Paso Times .
After the arrest was made, the FBI also issued thanks to all citizens of El Paso who did their due diligence to report Barron as soon as they saw something alarming on his social media.
They also told citizens to contact them by calling the emergency hotlines or by submitting tips through their website, but recommended that no one try to report to the official FBI Twitter account as it could create panic.
They shared their gratitude on the official FBI El Paso Twitter.
The individual that made the social media threats towards the local Walmart stores was arrested by our agents late last night. Thank you to the citizens of El Paso for “Seeing Something and Saying Something” in order to protect our community. #ElPasoStrong pic.twitter.com/SYWLvYoSxT
— FBI El Paso (@FBIElPaso) May 9, 2020
Many social media users responded to their tweet to thank the officers for their quick work at arresting the suspect.
“Thank you for all you do to keep our community safe! You all Stay safe!” replied one user, adding a praying hands emoji to their tweet.
Authorities in the area remain on high alert after a deadly shooting occurred at a Walmart in El Paso last year. The perpetrator was reportedly targeting Latinos in his attack.
The incident claimed the lives of 23 victims, including Guillermo “Memo” Garcia , who recently succumbing to his injuries after a prolonged hospital stay. Horizon City is only about 20 miles away from El Paso.