BOSTON (MyFoxBoston/AP) - Two men from Iowa authorities say threatened gun violence at the Pokemon World Championships in Boston are being held without bail following an arraignment on Monday.
Eighteen-year-old Kevin Norton and 27-year-old James Stumbo, both from Iowa, made the threats in a Pokemon chat forum, Bureau of Intelligence and Analysis Commander Superintendent Paul Fitzgerald said in a news conference on Monday morning.
Fitzgerald said that the comments were flagged by a moderator and sent to officials at the Pokemon International headquarters, who then notified officials at the Hynes Convention Center.
"They were pretty obvious references as far as, bullet holes and bombings and those types of things. Violent, violent references,” Boston Police Superintendent Paul Fitzgerald said,
The suspects drove 25 hours to the event and were both registered to complete, Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said on Monday. Police say the suspects were stopped as they were about to enter the event.
The men were released, but their car was seized after authorities learned they might have guns.
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Officers executing a search warrant found a 12-gauge shotgun, an AR-15 rifle, several hundred rounds of ammunition, and a hunting knife in the car. Norton and Stumbo were arrested at the Red Roof Inn in Saugus, north of Boston.
Norton and Stumbo were held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing on September 1.
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