California hotel cook arrested after allegedly planning mass shooting
Authorities in California said another mass shooting may have been averted with the arrest of a hotel cook. Rodolfo Montoya, 37, who worked at a Marriott in Long Beach, told a co-worker Monday he planned to come into work and shoot everybody he saw at the hotel because of a so-called human resources issue.
That co-worker notified police, who arrested Montoya at his mobile home the next day and confiscated an arsenal of weapons. Montoya's arrest is the latest in a string of mass shooting threats after deadly shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.
"Suspect Montoya had clear plans, intent and the means to carry out an act of violence that may have resulted in a mass casualty incident," Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna said Wednesday.
When Long Beach police arrested the disgruntled hotel cook at his Huntington Beach home, they seized multiple high-powered firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and tactical gear, including an assault rifle and high-capacity magazines. The magazines are illegal in California.
Irma Escobito worked with Montoya at the Marriott hotel. She said he sometimes made her uncomfortable but that she never reported him.
"Every time he comes and he look for me, and he touch me or give me a kiss on the head, I say, 'Don't touch me please, don't kiss me,' because the cameras are there, and I don't like that," Escobito said.
One of the suspect's neighbors said that another neighbor warned him to stay away from Montoya.
"One next door told me that he had guns in that RV and to stay clear of it, he has all kinds of guns," the neighbor said.
At least 29 people have been arrested in 18 states for threatening mass violence since the Dayton and El Paso mass shootings.
In Orlando, a 16-year-old girl was arrested Wednesday for allegedly threatening to shoot people at her sister's Catholic school. According to the arrest report, she said in a group text that the "Next person to say something is the first person I will shoot on the school shooting that will take place this Friday."