Towson University student arrested after posting threat of mass violence on social media
On November 20, Eric Barker, a 20-year-old commuter student at Maryland’s Towson University, was arrested at his Carroll County home by officers with the Mount Airy Police Department after posting a public threat of mass violence on social media. His damning and self-incriminating tweets, which have since been deleted from his Twitter account, read, “murder lookin reall good right about now,” “FUNGUN” and “I want to commit 50 counts of assault and murder right now,” according to court documents shared by The Baltimore Sun.
After seeing those threatening tweets, university staff and students were quick to contact the Towson University Police who coordinated efforts to apprehend Barker with police in Mount Airy. Following his arrest, Barker was charged with ‘threat of mass violence’ and was later released on a $30,000 bond.
The November 2019 Towson University Police Department Crime Log contained a reference to Barker’s threat which stated: “a commuter student was arrested by warrant for making threats via social media” at the Center for the Arts on campus on Nov. 19.”
Towson University sent out a campus-wide email and Twitter post Friday afternoon alerting the community of the incident. Barker is not allowed to return back to campus, according to the email.
“TU is cooperating with the investigation and there is no threat to campus,” the email read. ~ The Towerlight
Following his release, Barker went back on Twitter and posted a few apologies:
WBAL-TV in Baltimore shared that Barker would be going to trial in December to face his charge of making a threat of mass violence.
For more on the story, see the video accompanying this article.
~ Posted by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter
