Police: Man arrested in Chico plotted ‘Las Vegas style’ mass shooting

CHICO — A 37-year-old man was arrested Sunday in Northern California on suspicion of threatening to kill police officers and planning a “Las Vegas style” mass shooting, authorities said.

The suspect was taken into custody by SWAT officers at a Super 8 motel in Chico after detectives obtained evidence of his plot, according to a police statement.

The evidence included unspecified information that he had made “criminal threats to kill specific individuals, specified law enforcement officers, and was preparing to commit a ‘Las Vegas style’ mass shooting with a specified deadline,” said the statement from the Chico Police Department.

Sixty people were killed and more than 400 were wounded in Las Vegas when a gunman opened fire on a music festival from a high-rise hotel in 2017.

After his arrest, the Chico suspect threatened to kill additional officers and their families, and he battered an officer with a table during the interview process, the police statement said.

He could face charges including making criminal threats and battery on a peace officer. He was held without bail at Butte County Jail.

Chico is a city of 98,000 people about 175 miles (280 km) north of San Francisco.