Law enforcement officials in Virginia arrested two illegal aliens who allegedly plotted a mass shooting on a July 4 celebration after a “hero citizen” overheard a conversation about the plot and immediately called the police.
“Two illegal immigrants, 52-year-old Julio Alvarado-Dubon and 38-year-old Rolman Balacarcel, were arrested and charged with being a non-U.S. citizens in possession of a gun after police uncovered a plot that the duo planned a mass shooting at Richmond’s July 4 celebration Monday,” Fox News reported. “[Richmond Chief of Police Gerald] Smith addressed reports that one of the suspects has been deported several times and continued to reenter the country illegally, saying that it was “frustrating” that a person could continue to break the law and have an opportunity to still plan out a mass murder.”
Smith said at a press conference on Wednesday that the shooting was prevented after a person who overheard a conversation about the plot immediately called police.
“A hero citizen picked up the phone and overheard a conversational there was a mass shooting being planned her in the city of Richmond, Virginia,” Smith said.
Julio Alvardo-Dubon and Rolman Balacarcel are being held at the Richmond City Jail. Court records say Dubon has a court hearing August 1, records for Balacarcel cannot be found in an online search. (Pictured here is the some of the crowd gathered at Dogwood Dell July 4) @8NEWS pic.twitter.com/mWFVxeIQ0R
— Ben Dennis 8News (@broadcastben_) July 6, 2022
Law enforcement officials seized two rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition from a home in Richmond after police received the tip from the concerned citizen.
“We know what their intent was but we don’t have a motive,” Smith added.
The incident comes after a 22-year-old white male killed at least seven people at a July 4 celebration in Highland Park, Illinois, and wounded dozens more. The suspect was able to purchase the firearms used in the attack because his father co-signed his Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card, which gun owners must have in that state.
The revelation comes after local law enforcement officials revealed the suspect had already been on law enforcement’s radar due to a pair of incidents that happened back in 2019, including the suspect attempting suicide followed by an alleged threat to “kill everyone” several months later.
The Daily Wire is not naming the suspect due to company policy about not giving notoriety to mass killers because studies suggest that the media’s coverage of mass shootings sparks more mass shootings.
“At the time of the incident, [the suspect] did not have a FOID card to revoke, and did not have a pending FOID application to deny,” Fox 32 reported. “Then, in December 2019, at 19, [the suspect] applied for a FOID card and was sponsored by his father. At the time, [Illinois State Police] said there were insufficient bases to establish a clear and present danger and deny the application.”‘
This report has been updated to include additional information.