Neil Edwin Prescott Arrested By Maryland Police, Authorities Detain Man Who Said 'I Am The Real Joker,' Guns Recovered In Apartment [PHOTO]
Prince George's County police have arrested Neil Edwin Prescott after he allegedly made threats and referred to himself as the Joker this week.
According to police, they arrested Prescott and recovered numerous guns from a home Thursday night. Julie Parker, a spokeswoman for the Prince George's County police, told NBC News Friday that authorities had "thwarted a terrorist threat."
Police reportedly responded after Prescott, 28, of Crofton Md., made a threat toward his employer in two phone calls to his supervisor Monday.
Prescott apparently was upset about losing his job and said: "I am the real Joker, and I'm going to blow everyone up," Prince George's County Police Chief Mark Magaw told reporters.
Further reports indicate that Prescott was fired from his job as a subcontractor at Pitney Bowes, an office supply company, on an unrelated matter, the company said.
Magaw said police took the threats very seriously "in light of what happened in Aurora." The comment was in reference to shooting that took place at a screening of "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises," in Aurora, Colorado last week. The shooting left 12 people dead and 58 others injured. The suspect in that shooting, James Eagan Holmes, reportedly told police "I am the Joker" after he was arrested.
According to NBC News, a police database showed that Prescott had 13 guns registered in his name.
Before the arrest, officers from the Anne Arundel County police, the Prince George's County police and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives obtained a warrant and searched his home in Crofton, about 25 miles from Washington, on Thursday night.
Ashan Benedict of the ATF's Baltimore division said at a news conference that investigators 25 firearms, including semiautomatic rifles and pistols, and several thousand rounds of ammunition from the home. Magaw added that when they arrived, Prescott was wearing a shirt that read, "Guns don't kill people, I do."
As a result, police evacuated part of the apartment building and arrested Prescott without incident.
While Prescott has not yet been charged with anything, authorities said he was in the process of undergoing a medical evaluation at the Anne Arundel County Medical Center on Friday.
Authorities detailed the weaponry in Prescott's home in their search warrant:
- 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 ammo of various calibers
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