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SALT LAKE CITY — Jack Stiles, the man prosecutors said planned to carry out a mass shooting in Salt Lake City, has a minor criminal history, and his last known address was a transitional home for people with mental health issues.
Rene Valles, a psychiatrist with Valley Mental Health, has never treated Stiles, but said his alleged plan appeared to be more than an impulsive thought.
"The more details somebody can give about taking out acts of aggression or violence, the more concerning one would become," Valles said.
Valles sees patients with mental illness, noting threats aren't unusual, but most are said out of anger and are not so well thought-out.
"That would make me very, very concerned about this individual and what his potential is for harm to others," Valles said.
Charging documents say Stiles planned to go to City Creek during the lunch hour on Wednesday to randomly shoot and kill people.
His next target was the Sugarhouse theater Movies 10. Stiles allegedly planned to bomb a Utah Transit Authority bus or TRAX line as well.
Prosecutors said Stiles had scoped and mapped out his targets and planned to buy handguns and silencers.
The message that I think we can learn from this case is we need to take every threat seriously.
–Rene Valles, psychiatrist
Police began to investigate in August when a hospital worker in West Valley City reported the threats.
"I'd also want to know his history," Valles said. "Does he have a history of violence? Does he have a history of making threats?"
Court records in Utah reveal little about the man behind the alleged threats.
In August, Stiles pleaded not guilty to theft of services, a misdemeanor, in a case investigated by the UTA police department.
Court documents also say he lived in the area of 1800 S. Main Street in Salt Lake City in a transitional housing facility for Valley Mental Health. Patients live in the facility as part of a treatment plan and typically stay for less than a year.
Prosecutors said they don't know if Stiles was capable of carrying out his plan, but Valles said even if he wasn't, he may have acted out in another way.
"The message that I think we can learn from this case is we need to take every threat seriously," Valles said.
If a patient is making threats, it's important to find out his or her motive to determine the best course of treatment, Valles said.
Stiles remains in the Salt Lake County Jail and is scheduled to make his first court appearance on the felony charge Friday afternoon.
