‘Incel-adjacent’ Mesa teen plotting mass shooting studied Paris attacks, shopped for tactical gear, FBI says

An 18-year-old Mesa man is behind bars on a $500,000 cash-only bond after local police and federal agents arrested him for “planning a mass shooting,” according to court documents and prosecutors.

Damien Alexander Bedonie was taken into custody early Tuesday morning by Mesa police officers assisting the FBI following an investigation into terroristic threats. During his initial court appearance on Oct. 7, state prosecutors revealed that search warrants uncovered evidence showing Bedonie allegedly researched past mass casualty events, looked up how to buy weapons and tactical gear, and began taking steps toward putting a violent plan into action.

Prosecutor Ashley Stetson told the court that Bedonie’s internet history, revealed in a search warrant, showed he searched for how to buy weapons “for a specific amount of money” and studied major violent attacks. Specifically, investigators found web searches regarding the 2015 Paris terror attacks, including queries about how they were coordinated and carried out, as well as searches detailing the Boston Marathon bombing and the Uvalde school shooting.

Read more: KSAZ