A Bailey’s Crossroads man now faces federal charges in connection with threatening messages posted online against a Haymarket megachurch and its congregants back in September.
Police arrested Rui Jiang, 35, in the vestibule of Park Valley Church “minutes or seconds” before what could have been a mass shooting on Sunday, September 24, 2023, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said after the arrest.
Davis said Jiang had a “kill manifesto” at his home. His arrest came after a woman who met him over a dating app saw vague threats against the church on Instagram and reported it to police in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, who alerted Fairfax County police. Fairfax County police alerted Prince William County police. An off-duty Prince William County lieutenant and church security detained Jiang at the church. He was found with a firearm, ammunition, and a knife, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
In a letter Fairfax County police found in Jiang’s home, he allegedly wrote: “To the families of those men about to be slain – I am sorry for what I have done and about to do.” The threat and police response are detailed in court documents, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Jiang had faced a charge of attempted aggravated murder against multiple persons in Prince William County, but local prosecutors dropped that charge, clearing the way for the case to go to U.S. District Court in Alexandria.
Feature image, stock.adobe.com
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