Police Thwart New Security Concern

After the recent shooting massacre in Aurora, Colorado, families across the nation are left with questions. Burglary and theft are crimes we can prepare for but nothing can prepare a community for a crime like that.  Just a week afterwards, police in Maryland believe they may have thwarted another shooting plot according to a recent article.

The Scoop

Police took a 28-year-old man into custody Thursday night and found an “arsenal” of weapons at his apartment in Crofton, about 25 miles east of the nation’s capital.

Police said that when they made contact with the suspect, he was wearing a T-shirt reading “Guns don’t kill people. I do.”

A Closer Look

The man, identified in media reports as Neil Prescott, was in the process of being terminated from his job at mailroom supplier and document company Pitney Bowes in Prince George’s County and “had made threats directed toward his employer,” according to WJLA-TV.

An official with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press that Prescott phoned in a threat to Pitney Bowes that he was going to “shoot the place up.” Investigators say a search of Prescott’s home turned up more than 20 guns, including assault rifles and handguns, and more than 400 rounds of ammunition.

The official says though the suspect referred to himself as “a joker,” there is no other known connection to the deadly shooting last week at the Colorado movie theater during the latest Batman movie.

New Ways to Monitor

Police were able to quickly stop this plot because the suspect made his plans public knowledge. However, as technology continues to advance, police and local authorities are discovering new ways to predict criminal activity. For example, Facebook uses scanning software to monitor conversations for suspicious behavior. The software scans conversations for certain keywords and sends a report to the Facebook security team who can then notify police. While this methodology may spark privacy concerns, the intension of this security system technology is for the public good.

What do you think of this new security technology? Share your comments below.