Shorewood Mass Shooting Threat Leads To Prison Time

SHOREWOOD, IL —Nine months after police and school officials became aware of an online threat of a mass shooting targeting the community of Shorewood, the young man responsible for the crime has been given a short sentence in prison.

One of Ohio's largest newspapers, The Toledo Blade, reported that 23-year-old Ryan Gagnet was sentenced Monday in federal court to six months of imprisonment. The resident of Maumee, Ohio pleaded guilty to the crime of transmitting a threatening interstate communication, the paper revealed.

According to federal court records, Gagnet posted the following threat in an online chatroom back in February: “Hi. It’s going to be even more scary tomorrow. Because I’m going to be on the news. Commit a mass shooting" in Shorewood, Illinois.

Patch reported back in February that Gagnet was interviewed at his house by the FBI and he made the following admissions: "Maybe three days ago ... I went on Omegle ... I was wearing a mask and I was telling people that ah that there may be a mass shooting at some point ... then I would just see how ah their frightened reactions," court documents show.

Besides six months of federal prison time, U.S. District Judge James Carr ordered Gagnet to spend the following six months in home confinement, followed by three years of supervised release, The Toledo Blade reported.

Prior to the FBI's arrest of Gagnet, school officials in Shorewood exercised extreme caution, halting all outdoor recess activities within the Troy School District. Several days later, the Shorewood Police Department announced that the threat of the mass shooting was not deemed to be credible, Patch reported back in February.

Related Shorewood Patch coverage of this case:

Shorewood School Threat Was Not Credible, Police Say

Mass Violence Threat In Shorewood Intercepted By FBI