Justin Mohn shot and killed father before beheading him, Bucks County DA says
LEVITTOWN, Pa. (CBS) - More information was revealed Friday about Bucks County murder suspect Justin Mohn, who authorities say killed and beheaded his father, Michael Mohn, at their home in Levittown on Tuesday and then posted a gruesome and politically charged video about the crime on YouTube.
Mohn, 32, is now in custody after the killing. He was on the run for a few hours after police say he drove his father's car over 100 miles away to Fort Indiantown Gap, a National Guard training facility in Lebanon County.
In a news conference Friday, Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn explained more about the YouTube video and what happened the night of the murder.
In the video, Mohn identified himself as a militia member and called on supposed militia members to kill federal employees and agents. He listed the address of a judge and called for violence against them.
Schorn said autopsy results showed that Justin Mohn shot his father and then used a knife and machete to decapitate him.
One day before the killing, Mohn went to a store in Croydon, part of Bristol Township, Pennsylvania, and legally purchased a 9 mm Sig Sauer handgun, Schorn said. He relinquished a medical marijuana card to be allowed to purchase a gun, Schorn later added.
"That shows you the clear state of mind that he was in having planned what he ultimately carried out," Schorn said.
That gun was later found on him after he hopped a barbed wire fence at the secured National Guard facility.
According to Schorn, Mohn "stated he went to Fort Indiantown Gap in an effort to mobilize the National Guard to raise arms against the federal government. He also indicated that he wanted to speak to Gov. [Josh] Shapiro to join forces."
Mohn's video stayed on YouTube for over five hours, prompting responses from organizations including the Council on Foreign Relations, which said social media companies need to be more vigilant about regulating violent content.
YouTube did not respond to CBS News' questions about how the video was ultimately caught or why it wasn't taken down sooner. A spokesperson told CBS News that teams were "closely tracking to remove any re-uploads of the video."
The video later spread to X, formerly known as Twitter.
Michael Mohn was a member of the geo-environmental section of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps' Philadelphia district sent a statement on his loss:
"We are deeply saddened to learn of the tragic death of our teammate Michael Mohn. He served with our Geo-Environmental Section. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mohn family and we are focused on supporting our grieving employees at this time. We would refer any other questions to local law enforcement authorities."
Middletown Township Police Chief Joseph Bartorilla said the police deparmtent's records had three results about Justin Mohn.
One dated back to an argument in 2011 in Mohn's driveway and did not result in criminal charges. Another is from 2019 when Mohn claimed to police that someone at Progressive Corporation in Ohio had threatened him because Mohn was suing them.
Last year, Mohn's employer in Philadelphia called Middletown Township Police and "expressed concern about his behavior at work." Bartorilla said. The employer also asked a Middletown officer for advice on terminating Mohn's employment, which the officer declined, Bartorilla added.
The employer was referred to legal resources and Philadelphia Police. Bartorilla said Middletown police did not contact Mohn after the officer received the call.
"We didn't go to him [Mohn]...I guess there was concern over, I guess, what Justin was writing, some novels he was writing," Bartorilla told reporters.
"The officer asked...was there any criminal action on his part, any threats made, anything like that," Bartorilla added. "Based on the information that the officer gathered, and the decision the officer made, I don't think we needed to have contact with him," Bartorilla said.
Mohn faces charges for first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse.
Officials told CBS News Philadelphia more charges could come in the future. But as of now, Mohn is in custody without bail at a Bucks County correctional facility.
@cbsphiladelphia Justin Mohn of Levittown, Pennsylvania was arrested and charged after police say he killed and beheaded his father and posted a gruesome video on YouTube. #crime #truecrime #crimetok #pennsylvania #Levittown #BucksCounty #justinmohn #michaelmohn @Eva Andersen
♬ original sound - CBS Philadelphia
