Cambria County man arrested over alleged mass shooting threat
CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — A Salix man has been charged after he allegedly said he wanted to commit a mass shooting at a grocery store in Cambria County while speaking in an Xbox chat.
Dylan Shaffer, 25, has been charged after an online friend from Minnesota reached out to police about a mass shooting threat that he allegedly made, according to a criminal complaint. The Minnesota man contacted the Adams Township Police Department on Feb. 18 to report the threat that he claimed Shaffer made on the gaming platform.
Officers went to Shaffer's address and spoke with him about the alleged incident. Shaffer denied making any threats and said he did not have a firearm. However, officers were given an audio clip from the Minnesota man that was recorded on the Xbox chat room.
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According to the affidavit, in the audio Shaffer can be heard saying that he's mad at the customers who come to the grocery store where he works. The online friend can be heard asking, 'Why would you bring a gun to your grocery store and shoot people when they did nothing wrong.' Shaffer goes on to allegedly say that they are always doing something wrong and that he wanted to hurt people.
Police asked Shaffer again if he had made any threats or wanted to harm anyone and he again denied it, which police noted was 'contradictive' to what they heard in the audio. Police also noted that Shaffer then said he just wanted to shoot fruit and was going to use a gun that he was going to get from a relative.
Officers then contacted the Richland Township Police Department due to the threat as they are the department in charge of the area where the store was located. The grocery store was closed for the day due to the alleged threats Shaffer made.
Shaffer is in the Cambria County Prison with bail denied as the 'danger to society is too great if defendant were to be released,' according to court documents. He's facing charges of terroristic threats, terroristic threats to cause serious public inconvenience and criminal use of a communication facility.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 27.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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