Crime & Safety

Police: 25 Guns, 'Thousands of Rounds' Recovered From Shooting Plot Suspect's Home

The suspect from Crofton called himself "a joker" and threatened to "load [his] guns and blow everyone up" at his Pitney Bowes office, police said.

Less than a week after a gunman opened fire on a crowded theater in Aurora, CO, police in Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties say they thwarted a "terror attack" that threatened to bring similar fear and violence closer to home.

Media reports named the suspect as Neil Prescott, 28, of Crofton, but police declined to confirm his identity. Earlier reports identified the suspect's last name as "Trescott;" however it has since been corrected.

Prince George's County Spokeswoman Julie Parker said that after speaking to the state's attorney's office, the suspect would not be charged Friday.

Find out what's happening in College Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The suspect remained in the care of Anne Arundel Medical Center for a mental evaluation, according to police. Police said he could face both state and federal charges.

According to police, the suspect had made threatening calls to his employer and had in his possession a large cache of weapons at his residence.

Find out what's happening in College Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Prince George's County police said they received a call on Wednesday from the man's employer, Pitney Bowes, a software and hardware manufacturer, in Lanham. Supervisors told investigators that they received two threats from a disgruntled employee who was in the process of being fired. 

At one point, the suspect allegedly told a superior, "I'm the joker, and I'm going to load my guns and blow everyone up," police said in a statement.

PGPD contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as well as Anne Arundel County police.

Anne Arundel County police met with the suspect at his residence Thursday at Keswick Park Apartments on Parkridge Circle.

When they got to his home, according to officials, the suspect was wearing a "Guns Don't Kill People, I Do" T-shirt. Police decided to get an emergency petition from a judge to detain the suspect.

The man was taken into custody without incident at 3:20 a.m. Friday on Parkridge Circle in Crofton, according to Chief James Teare of the Anne Arundel County Police Department. He was transported to Anne Arundel Medical Center for examination.

Ashan Benedict with the ATF said 25 semi-automatic weapons and "thousands of rounds of ammunition" were recovered from the man's residence.

The man has not yet been arrested or charged, police said, but he did not have a weapons permit.

Chief Mark Magaw of the Prince George's County police said it was "important for the community to know that we take all threats seriously," particularly in light of last week's shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, CO. Magaw added it was "fairly obvious" the suspect was influenced by the shooting in Aurora.

"We can't measure what was prevented here," he said.

Teare said the operation had "thwarted some serious violence, and potentially saved lives."

"If you're going to make a threat, we're going to take action," Magaw added.

Carol Wallace, a spokesperson for Pitney Bowes, said the man was an employee of a subcontractor of the company.

"He has not been on any Pitney Bowes property in more than four months," she said in a statement.

Calls to Pitney Bowes' office in Lanham were not answered.

Authorities detailed the weaponry in Prescott's home in their search warrant, including:
4 30-round magazines
2 shotguns
1 Beretta .40-cal handgun
1 Ruger .45-cal handgun
2 KAHR 9mm handguns
1 Beretta 9mm handgun
2 Sig Sauer P226 handguns
1 Browning Arms handgun
2 Mauser rifles
1 FN Herstal rifle
1 Ruger 357 handgun
1 Night scope
100 rounds 12 remington
40 large steel boxes of ammunition of various calibers

Updated at 7:45 p.m. to add list of weaponry and photo.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.