MANCHESTER, Conn. — A Manchester man is accused of threatening to "shoot up" Manchester Community College last month, according to police.
Darius Burke, a 27-year-old from Manchester, was arrested Monday and charged with Breach of Peace in the Second Degree and Threatening in the Second Degree.
The Manchester Police Department was notified of the threats on May 23, and they immediately started to search for Burke.
He was found at Rockville Hospital where he admitted to "having thoughts to what was reported", police said. After hearing this information, police asked medical officials to conduct an emergency evaluation on Burke. He was later placed in medical care, police said.
Officers investigating gathered more information on Burke and found that he was involved in multiple situations where he threatened to harm himself and others.
The arrest warrant cites incidents going back to 2015. One, in which Burke allegedly told a mental health worker he drove to MCC and sat in his car considering running over a group of students.
It also states he is "obsessed with mass shooters" and researched mass shootings.
In 2016, he was expelled from the school for making threats and was arrested by the MCC police department. That year his grandmother also contacted police about surrendering guns at her home, and had them destroyed.
Burke has a history of violent behavior and threats, according to police, which led officers to prepare a risk protection order, which is an order police ask the court to assign to prevent someone from having firearms, deadly weapons, or ammunition.
It's what's known as a "red flag law."
"The reason why Connecticut's law is so strong also is that we not only allow the removal of the guns for those who may possess guns and are at risk to commit harm but also allows the police to get an order that would prevent someone from purchasing the firearm in the first place," said Jeremy Stein, executive director of CT Against Gun Violence.
The law was recently expanded so that family members or medical professionals can also call for a risk protection order.
"The data shows this is a very effective law at not only preventing mass shootings but also preventing suicide by firearm," Stein said.
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Officers also prepared an arrest warrant for Burke. After Burke's arrest on Monday and appearance in court on Tuesday, he posted a $100,000 bond and was released.
Until Burke is back in court, he will be monitored by a GPS bracelet with the risk protection order ongoing. Manchester Community College and the campus's police department were notified of Burke’s release on Monday.
In a statement to the MCC community, the school said in part,
"The security of our campus and everyone here is our top priority. To the best of our knowledge, this person has not been to the MCC campus since they were a student, including when these threats were made."
It also said Burke is legally barred from being on campus, but it has heightened security as well.
Gaby Molina is a reporter and anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at gmolina@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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