UPDATE: As of June 2, Bruce Laveck, the security guard, was issued an appearance ticket for Syracuse City Court for a B misdemeanor of Making a Threat of Mass Harm in violation of Penal Law section 240.78.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — A 21-year-old Destiny USA security guard has been fired after telling co-workers he wanted to commit mass shootings at the mall and at an upcoming local pride parade, police reports obtained by NewsChannel 9 reveal.
The man, who NewsChannel 9 is not naming because he hasn’t been charged, is not in custody.
The Onondaga County District Attorney says the threat isn’t a case of “making a terroristic threat,” because it was the result of private conversations, not shared with a wide audience over social media.
Saturday, May 20, a manager with Destiny USA’s security service, Allied United Security, was informed about comments made by one of his newly-hired guards around co-workers.
The police report states he: “made verbal comments to other co-workers where he threated to shoot up Destiny USA and also to shoot up the Gay Pride Parade, presumably the upcoming festival that is celebrated annually in Syracuse.”
The event scheduled for June 10 is officially named “CNY Pride Festival and Parade.”
The guard’s co-workers accuse him of further saying he preferred stabbing people at these locations because he “wanted to see the life drain from their eyes.”
The next day, the manager questioned the guard about the comments, who denied making them but was asked to leave the property until further notice.
The following Wednesday, May 24, the guard was fired over the phone and formally banned from the Destiny USA property.
Then on Thursday, May 25, Syracuse Police Officers responded to Destiny USA for a suspicious incident complaint made by mall security who told police that the former employee made some concerning statements to other co-workers.
Afterwards, the Syracuse Police Criminal Intelligence Section as well as the Syracuse Area Joint Terrorism Task Force, including the FBI, opened an investigation into the former security guard.
Police say the security guard was interviewed and his house was searched, where they found a non-working firearm inside.
Furthermore, on Thursday, June 1, State Supreme Court Justice Robert Antonacci approved a requested Extreme Risk Protection Order, which prevents the suspect from possession guns until a year-long ban is considered on June 6.
The overall investigation did not provide enough evidence to sustain a state or federal charge at this time as there’s no indication the guard had weapons or written plans to actually commit the crimes.
The investigation is ongoing.
