An Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University student was arrested early Thursday for allegedly plotting a shooting on the campus, the Daytona Beach Police Department said. Police arrested 19-year-old John Hagins after receiving “a concerning tip” from other students.
Investigators found social media messages written by Hagins in which he “laid out his plans to bring a folding gun to the campus tucked inside a backpack along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition,” according to the department. Hagins was arrested at his apartment, and officers said he was in possession of a gun and ammunition. A news release from the department said police believe Hagins sold his vehicle to purchase the firearm and ammunition.
Investigators discovered social media messages Hagins had written where he laid out his plans to bring a folding gun to the campus tucked inside a backpack along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
The department said it had not pinned down an alleged motive but said Hagins was “in danger of failing classes” at the university and was cited for a traffic infraction on campus Wednesday. Officers who took Hagins into custody at his residence in the Andros Isles apartments.
Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young credited the students who reported Hagins. “We could have had a tragedy unfold today. Instead, these students reported it to the school and that allowed us to get to work right away and bring Hagins into custody before he could carry out his plans. We thank them all for seeing something and saying something,” Young said in a statement. Hagins faces charges of written threats to injure or kill, terrorism and attempted first-degree homicide, according to the department’s website.
We have arrested an @EmbryRiddle student for plotting to shoot up the campus on the final day at the school before winter break.https://t.co/HAlDnbRl9q
— Daytona Beach Police (@DaytonaBchPD) December 9, 2021
–News Service of Florida and FlaglerLive
Keep Flagler Beautiful says
What a rotten shame this sort of blight has to be placed on a school as respected as Embry-Riddle. Waiting for the “insanity” defense. Hagins deserves no mercy. He could have committed mass murder and ruined many families.
Randy says
Only in the USA do our politicians in Washington refuse to deal with the gun laws in our country since the NRA donates to the GOP Republicans in Washington.
No other country has this problem and our country keeps ignoring it so it will only get worse, until maybe God forbid something happens to one of their family members. Then you will see how quick they will change the laws then.
bob says
get another X-box evil game, Oh wait they don’t alter anybody’s thinking
Mee Too says
good job! DBPD! <3
Hmmm says
Curious. What laws would you implement to stop shootings? (Hint: If you were to ban firearms altogether, there’d still be shootings.)
STAN says
Let;s give the students credit for the wonderful job that was done for seeing something and saying something. I’m sure this saved many lives!!!
Bob Frankensears says
Hats off to the gents who turned him in. They saved lives… and perhaps prevented one less noisy Embry Riddle plane from disturbing the peace over our community.
palmcoaster says
Not only we have to endure the unnecessary nuisance of their noisy flights and danger over our homes in Flagler and Volusia county just so they sock it to us all as they are allowed by their flight schools, other than doing their stunts west of Rte 1 in the unincorporated areas of the counties or over the ocean, looks like now some plan massive shootings among themselves.
A.j says
Thank God for the young people for being level headed and used mature thinking to call authorities. Thank God the authorities listened and did their job. We will never know how many lives were saved. The sad news is a crazy head will break through and cause massive murders. May God bless us and give us strength when that happens again.
Concerned Citizen says
No less noisy than the crotch rockets and modified mufflers tearing up and down our roads.
I hope you don’t fly commercially a lot. A good number of the pilots you rely on to get somewhere come from these schools.
Bob Frankensears says
Actually, since you mentioned it, I love to fly! And when I exit the aircraft, I thank the pilot. I also support the students right to learn how to fly so he or she can fly me from point a to point b.
What I don’t support is the FAA’s lackadaisical attitude for public safety and basic quality of life for the thousands of non aviation folk living beneath what seems like an endless amount of flight schools conducting maneuvers, producing an insane amount of noise while burning leaded aviation gas over our congested community. That’s not the student’s fault.
What I don’t support is multiple flight schools taking up shop in North Florida and proactively advising their students to fly over conjested communities so they have a place to land just in case something goes wrong.
What I don’t support is airport managers encouraging more flight school activity for the sake of fuel sales while at the same time pulling out the book of canned responses and lengthy “string them along until they give up” tactics for any public opposition that may arise.
What I do support is a functional, unbiased regulatory body (not staffed by flight schools) requiring training related aircraft to fly over non-populated areas. Actually, considering what’s left of Florida’s natural beauty/recourses and the many people who are trying to appreciate and enjoy listening to birds sing while watching manatee swim, perhaps non-populated areas wouldn’t be the best place for a steady stream of flight schools to encroach upon. Maybe the conversation in 2021, considering our population increase, should be whether or not Florida is the best place for flight schools to operate these days. Who knows, with the right piece of legislation, “the sky’s the limit.” Right, Concerned Citizen? Cute name choice by the way.