Florida sheriff says ‘no doubt’ man linked to Abundant Life shooter plotted mass shooting
WEST PALM BEACH — Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said he believes deputies prevented a mass shooting by arresting an Acreage man who stockpiled weapons, impersonated law enforcement and posted online about attacks he planned to carry out, including in conversations with Wisconsin teenager Natalie Rupnow.
Deputies arrested Damien Allen, 22, on April 29. Cpt. Randy Foley said PBSO had been investigating Allen’s online activity for about a month when it received a tip from the FBI that prompted the agency’s immediate action. Foley did not specify what the tip entailed.
According to investigators, Allen had amassed an arsenal of 18 firearms, more than 12,000 rounds of ammunition, ballistic armor, tactical gear and multiple uniforms — among them PBSO deputy outfits, an FBI uniform, Marine Corps blues and an Army Ranger uniform. One uniform bore a Nazi insignia.
“There’s no doubt in my mind they have stopped a mass shooting that was going to happen,” Bradshaw said. “This guy was ready to go. It’s just a matter of what day was going to set him off.”
Details from the arrest report: Man posing as deputy fantasized about attacks with teen who killed 2 at school, PBSO says
Online threats, police costume and 18 firearms led to arrest of Palm Beach County man
In Allen’s home in The Acreage, where he lived with his family, deputies also found self-made FBI IDs and military training certificates, along with authentic PBSO gear: gun belts, badges, a name tag that said “ALLEN.”
Foley said investigators are reviewing bank records, shipping data and online purchase histories in hopes of tracing the uniforms’ origins.
“There’s nothing that you can buy now that’s not tracked in some way, and we will track it down,” Foley said.
Foley said Allen was communicating with others across the country about guerrilla warfare tactics, ambushes and racially and ethnically motivated acts of violence. One conversation with Natalie Rupnow, a 15-year-old who killed two people at her private school in Wisconsin, contained threats against a church and law-enforcement buildings, Foley said.
Though Allen had not specified a date for an attack, Foley said Allen had prepared for violence and was simply “waiting for the proper trigger.”
“Common sense will tell you that no one amasses all this and talks about mass shootings as a hobby,” Bradshaw said. “There’s no doubt in my mind what he was going to do. The only question was when.”
Deputies arrested Allen on charges of written threats to kill, unlawful use of a two-way communication device and impersonating an officer — two felonies and a misdemeanor for which he could be sentenced up to 21 years in prison.
Foley said Allen “was very talkative and did not request a lawyer” upon his arrest. He remains in the Palm Beach County Jail and is represented by the Public Defender’s Office, which, as a policy, does not comment on open cases.
In addition to the criminal charges, PBSO asked a judge to temporarily remove Allen’s firearms under Florida’s Risk Protection Order Act. The statute — sometimes referred to as a “red flag” law — lets authorities stop a person from accessing firearms if they’re deemed a threat to themselves or others.
In their petition, deputies said Allen “is seriously mentally ill or has recurring mental health issues” and posed a “significant risk of injury” in the near future. Hafele scheduled a May 15 hearing on the risk-protection order.
Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Man linked to Abundant Life shooter planned mass attack, sheriff says
