Man threatens school shooting ‘in the name of Kyle rittenhouse,’ Missouri police say
A Missouri man threatened on social media to shoot high school students in the name of Kyle Rittenhouse, authorities say.
The Festus Police Department was notified of the threat about 10 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4, according to a news release.
“I’m going to shoot Festus high school students in the name of Kyle rittenhouse,” he posted on his Snapchat story at 7:49 p.m. that night, court records show. The post was viewable to all of his friends on Snapchat, according to a probable cause statement..
A minute later, the man posted to Snapchat, “No wonder why schools get shot, the news just proved we can get away with it especially if it’s a s*** hole like Festus,” the probable cause statement says.
Officers went to the man’s house that night, where he was arrested “for making a terrorist threat,” police said. The man has since been identified as 27-year-old Mitchell Lovelace of Festus.
Lovelace admitted to making the posts, but claimed he felt bad and later deleted them, court records show. He said he made the posts after a bad dream and he woke up with the news on.
His posts led to the closure of Festus High School, a criminal complaint says. Festus High School is about 35 miles south of St. Louis.
Lovelace is being held at the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office with no bond, the news release says.
Police say school resource officers were on “heightened patrol on the district campuses,” and staff and parents were notified about the threat.
Rittenhouse, a former police youth cadet, was 17 when police say the Illinois teenager brought an AR-15-style gun to Kenosha, Wisconsin, and fatally shot two people and wounded another during the riots on Aug. 25, 2020. He was charged with homicide, attempted homicide and reckless endangering.
He was found not guilty on Nov. 19 on all charges in Kenosha — and has now become a hero to Second Amendment enthusiasts, including former President Donald Trump.
His acquittal led to protests, NPR reported. President Joe Biden said the verdict left him “angry and concerned” but said in a statement on the White House lawn he stands by the jury’s conclusion.
This story was originally published December 8, 2021 at 4:57 PM.