On Wednesday, authorities revealed that the two men who have been arrested and accused of planning a mass shooting on the 4th of July in Richmond, Virginia are in the United States illegally.
As reported by the Daily Caller, Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith gave a press conference in which he stated that “a hero citizen picked up the phone and overheard a conversation there was a mass shooting being planned here in the city of Richmond, Virginia.”
“There’s no telling how many lives this citizen hero saved from one phone call,” Smith continued. “One phone call saved numerous lives on the Fourth of July.”
Following the warning from the anonymous citizen, police arrested 52-year-old Julio Alvarado-Dubon and 38-year-old Roman Balacarcel, who are roommates.
The men, who were planning to carry out their shooting at Richmond’s 4th of July celebration, were subsequently charged with being non-citizens in possession of a firearm. Alvarado-Dubon had in his possession two rifles, one handgun, and over 200 rounds of ammunition; he was arrested on July 1st, and Balacarcel was under surveillance before he was arrested on Tuesday for similar charges.
Smith further revealed that one of the men had been deported several times before, only to re-enter the country every single time, which he called a “frustrating” fact about the case.