A Philippine national who is a permanent resident of the United States was arrested on Friday after allegedly planning to carry out a mass shooting at the Islamic Center of Northeastern Florida.
According to BuzzFeed news, Jacksonville police announced the arrest of Bernandino Bolatete, 69, during a press conference Monday evening Eastern Standard Time (this morning in Manila).
Bolatete was arrested during a raid of his home on Friday night.
A police official told reporters during the press conference that they received a tip last October about a man who expressed “strong anti-Islamic sentiment” and was planning a mass shooting at a mosque in northeastern Florida.
An undercover police officer then began befriending Bolatete weeks before the planned shooting, where he shared details of how he was going to carry out his plan.
According to a report from local news channel News 4 Jax, Sheriff Mike Williams said the undercover officer met with Bolatete on several occasions at local gun ranges. Williams said they have recordings of conversations with Bolatete in which he confirmed to the undercover detective that he hated Muslims.
“The investigation confirmed the suspect was planning on carrying out a mass shooting and he already had the weaponry necessary to carry out the attack,” Williams said.
The undercover detective also sold a silencer to Bolatete for US$100 last week.
A CBS News report said Bolatete allegedly claimed he had five guns, including semi-automatic rifles, but said he still needed a silencer.
“The suppressor is not really that ‘quiet’ but it can be used on the 4th of July or New Year (sic) time, it can easily blend with the sound of fireworks,” Bolatete allegedly texted the undercover detective on Nov. 28.
Bolatete told the undercover officer that his health was failing due to being shot in the kidney by a Philippine police officer years ago.
Court documents obtained by BuzzFeed said that Bolatete told the police officer he expected to hear bad news about his remaining kidney and would carry out his plans of shooting up the mosque after his doctor’s appointment.
“I have to bring my… my long guns there and uh, stay at that, uh, tower. Keep shooting those Muslims, you know, on Friday.”
According to the same court documents, in another conversation with Bolatete, the detective told him about a Muslim man who hadn’t paid him for work done on the man’s home. Bolatete responded by advising the undercover detective on how to kill the man and get away with it.
When discussing his plans on shooting up the mosque, Bolatete was recorded saying, “So we’ll try … we will try a Christian doing uh, terroristic [sic] act this time, hum, to the Muslims the, they [laughing] they doing it all the time. You know?”
Bolatete was also recorded explaining how to access the minaret at the Islamic center.
According to his Facebook profile, the same profile linked to by several local news outlets in Florida, Bolatete is originally from Tagbilaran City, Philippines. Comments left on his profile picture show him using the distinct Bohol-anon dialect variation of the Visayan language.
Several of his public photos show him firing guns at a range as well as images of guns and semi-automatic rifles.
Bolatete was charged with illegally possessing a firearm silencer, a federal offense. If convicted, Bolatete could face up to 10 years in prison.
While he only faces weapons charges for now, Bolatete could still be charged with other offenses related to his alleged plans.
