(CNN) — A Florida man has been charged for threatening to commit a mass shooting after his ex-girlfriend alerted authorities to a series of ominous text messages he sent her.
25-year-old Tristan Scott Wix was arrested on Friday in a Winn-Dixie parking lot in Daytona Beach Shores, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
In a news conference Saturday, Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood described Wix as a “lone wolf” who had lost his job, CNN affiliate News 13 Orlando reported. Wix sent the texts to his ex-girlfriend, who alerted law enforcement.
Wix, of Daytona Beach, wrote about wanting to open fire on a large crowd of people, the sheriff’s office said. “A good 100 kills would be nice,” he wrote in one message, adding that he already had a location in mind.
“A school is a weak target.. id be more likely to open fire on a large crowd of people from over 3 miles away.. I’d wanna break a world record for longest confirmed kill ever,” another message reads, according to the sheriff’s office.
Wix said he wanted to die and “have fun doing it.”
“Ah well even if you told someone, me saying I wanna do it and think about it is not the same as actually doing it lol. Was kinda hoping someone would come into my life worth not doing it for, for the sake of all those people (laughing cry face emoji). I’m not crazy I just wanna die and I wanna have fun doing it, but I’m the most patient person in the world,” Wix wrote in another message.
Chitwood said on Saturday that authorities recovered a .22-caliber hunting rifle and 400 rounds of ammo in his apartment, according to News 13 Orlando. Wix had initially told investigators he did not own any firearms but that he was fascinated with mass shootings, the sheriff’s office said.
Wix was being held without bond Sunday at the Volusia County Branch Jail. It could not be immediately determined Sunday whether he has retained an attorney.
