A Central Florida flight student was sentenced for threatening to commit a mass shooting at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.
At the conclusion of a hearing this month, defendant John Hagins was sentenced to eight years in prison followed by 22 years of probation. He pleaded no contest in May to Attempted Manslaughter (Firearm), Attempted Terrorism, and Written Threats to Kill or do Bodily Injury.
Hagins, who was a flight student at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), had joked about “shooting up” the school on multiple occasions.
Witnesses told detectives they got concerned when Hagins bought a gun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
On the night of December 8, 2021, Hagins sent one of the witnesses a Snapchat of his backpack with the gun and ammo in it. The witness called campus security to report the threat.
On the morning of December 9, 2021, Daytona Beach Police arrested Hagins after he was seen leaving his apartment with the backpack. He admitted to detectives that he had talked about “shooting up” ERAU and made references to the Columbine High School mass shooting.
“This defendant was stopped before he could carry out his plan to inflict mass casualties on one of our country’s most prestigious universities,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said about the case. “We should all be profoundly grateful for the investigative prowess exhibited by the DBPD.”
The Central Florida case was investigated by the Daytona Beach Police Department. Assistant State Attorney Ashley McCarthy successfully prosecuted the case for the state. The Honorable Leah Case presided over the case and pronounced sentence.
