CNN
—
A Virginia man has been charged after he was arrested at a church with a loaded weapon after posting threats online, authorities said, citing a tip from a social media user and the quick action and coordination of three police departments across two states.
Rui Jiang, 35, was arrested Sunday at the Park Valley Church in Haymarket, Virginia, the Prince William County Police Department said in a statement.
He was in possession of a loaded handgun, an additional magazine, a folding knife and a folding “credit card” style knife, the police statement said.
Jiang is facing a felony charge of making a threat by letter to intimidate a population and a misdemeanor charge of carrying a dangerous weapon to a place of worship, according to Daniela Salguero from Prince William County’s Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney.
He was arraigned Monday and assigned a public defender. The Prince William County Public Defender’s Office declined to identify his attorney to CNN. Jiang’s next court hearing is set for October 11, online court records show.
The arrest comes as places of worship across the country have become a repeated target in America’s scourge of mass shootings, including a 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and a 2017 shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
Police were tipped off to the potential attack by a social media user who saw threatening posts on Instagram and reported them to the Anne Arundel County Police Department in Maryland, the statement said.
The posts included a picture of Jiang pointing a gun at pictures of churches, including the Park Valley Church, the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia said.
Police in Anne Arundel County contacted investigators in Fairfax County, where Jiang lived, and officers were sent to his home, police said.
Jiang wasn’t at the residence, but investigators were also able to give a description of his vehicle to officers in Prince William County.
An off-duty officer working an assignment at the church spotted the vehicle in the parking lot.
“At around the same time, staff at the church were monitoring a suspicious person who was determined to be the accused who was on the premises. The off-duty officer and church staff coordinated and detained the accused near the entrance without incident,” the statement from Prince William County Police said.
Jiang “apparently entered the building through a separate door and had been inside the location prior to being stopped. Church services were going on at the same time, no injuries were reported,” the statement said.
Police searched Jiang’s home and seized documents and electronic items, but no additional firearms were located, according to the statement.
Jiang “was determined to have a concealed weapon permit, and the firearm was not reported stolen,” the police statement reads.
Letters and other documents related to the case were found in Jiang’s home, Prince William County Police Sgt. Jonathan Perok told CNN.
“We are grateful for the swift actions of our officers who took steps to prevent a potentially tragic incident in Prince William County Virginia,” Anne Arundel County Police said in a statement. “We are equally grateful for the coordination with Fairfax County Police Department and Prince William County Police Department to bring this individual into custody. Finally special thanks to the concerned community member for alerting our agency to this individual so action could be taken in the first place. If you see something, say something.”
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25789444/1258459915.jpg "OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever says the way AI is built is about to change")
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25546252/STK169_Mark_Zuckerburg_CVIRGINIA_D.jpg "Meta asks the US government to block OpenAI’s switch to a for-profit")
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23951353/STK043_VRG_Illo_N_Barclay_3_Meta.jpg "Meta’s Instagram boss: who posted something matters more in the AI age")
