Suspect in shootings of Democratic office in Arizona had over 120 guns
in his home, officials find
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[October 24, 2024]
By ANITA SNOW and WALTER BERRY
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona prosecutor said the man arrested in the
shooting of a Democratic National Committee office in suburban Phoenix
had more than 120 guns and over 250,000 rounds of ammunition in his
home, leading law enforcement to believe he may have been planning a
mass casualty event.
Maricopa County prosecutor Neha Bhatia said at Jeffrey Michael Kelly’s
initial court appearance on Wednesday that federal agents told her about
the large seizure made after Kelly’s arrest. Scopes, body armor and
silencers were also found, she said. A machine gun was discovered in the
car he was driving.
The sheer size of the cache led authorities to believe “this person was
preparing to commit an act of mass casualty,” Bhatia said.
Police said Kelly, 60, allegedly fired BB pellets and then gunshots at
the glass front door and a window of the Arizona Democrats’ field office
in Tempe. Police found three .22-caliber bullet casings while searching
Kelly's trash, according to court documents.
Nobody was inside during the shootings in the early morning hours of
Sept. 16, Sept. 23 and Oct. 6.
Kelly is also accused of hanging several political signs lined with
razor blades on Tuesday in Ahwatukee, an affluent suburb of Phoenix
where most voters have chosen Democrats in recent elections. Authorities
said he also hung plastic bags holding a white powder labeled
“biohazard” from those signs.
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Authorities said the hand-painted signs were attached to palm trees
and appeared to criticize Democrats and their presidential nominee,
Vice President Kamala Harris.
Kelly was being held on three felony counts of acts of terrorism and
four other counts related to the shootings, according to police. A
$500,000 cash bond was set with a requirement for house arrest and
an ankle monitor in the event he is able to raise that amount.
His attorney Jason Squires said Kelly was a retired aerospace
engineer who at one time had top security clearance, had no criminal
record and was not a flight risk.
Kelly’s next appearance was set for the morning of Oct. 29 in
Maricopa County Superior Court.
The Tempe location was one of 18 Harris field offices in Arizona
where Democrats gathered to organize Harris campaign efforts. It was
shut down after the last shooting, police said.
Arizona is one of the battleground states where the competition
between Harris and former President Donald Trump has been
particularly intense.
Political violence has already marred the campaign season, with the
Republican presidential nominee being targeted by assassination
attempts at a campaign rally and at one of Trump's Florida golf
courses.
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This story was first published Oct. 23, 2024. It was updated Oct.
24, 2024 to correct that more than 120 guns were found, according to
a prosecutor, not more than 200 guns.
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