Florida sheriff: Man planned mass shooting at Islamic center
Authorities say a Florida resident was planning to "shoot up" a Jacksonville mosque before his arrest on Friday.
Bernandino Bolatete, 69, has been charged with possessing a silencer not registered to him, a federal crime, said Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams at a press conference Monday. Bolatete is a Philippines national who has a green card, according to federal authorities.
Williams said a confidential source informed Jacksonville detectives in November that Bolatete "had expressed a strong anti-Islam sentiment and was planning to conduct a mass shooting of individuals at the Islamic Center of Northeast Florida."
An undercover detective established a relationship with Bolatete, according to federal charging documents. The detective allegedly recorded several conversations with Bolatete, who authorities say said that he planned to be killed by police after shooting at mosque attendees from a nearby tower.
"I just want to give these freaking people a taste of their own medicine, you know," Bolatete allegedly told the undercover detective, according to a criminal complaint filed by the FBI.