(RepublicanInformer.com)- Police in Richmond, Virginia were able to thwart a planned July 4 mass shooting after a “hero citizen” phoned in a tip to authorities.
The citizen had overheard a conversation between two men, Julio Alvarado-Dubon and Rolman Alberto Balcarcel, who were discussing attacking the annual fireworks show at Dogwood Dell Amphitheater.
Both Alvardo-Dubon and Balcarcel are Guatemalan nationals in the country illegally.
Richmond Police, along with the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI arrested Alvardo-Dubon on July 1. Balcarcel was placed under surveillance and arrested last Tuesday.
During its investigation, the Richmond Police Department seized two semi-automatic rifles, a handgun, and 232 rounds of ammunition from the Richmond home the two men shared.
Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith said in a press conference last Wednesday that the phone call from a concerned citizen “saved numerous lives on the Fourth of July.”
Both suspects were charged with being non-citizens in possession of firearms.
Alvarado-Dubon was in the US illegally on an expired visa. He had lived in Richmond for three years and worked in construction.
Police have not determined the motive for the planned attack.
In a tweet last week, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin thanked the “hero” who alerted police about the “potential massacre” and praised the Richmond Police Department for protecting the community.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney politicized the incident during the press conference, decrying the “proliferation of weapons of war being used on our civilian population.”
During a brief court appearance on Monday, both suspects were ordered held without bond.
