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PROVO — A Denver man visiting Provo who police say threatened to become "the next mass shooter" by "killing as many girls as I see" was formally charged with a felony Thursday.
Christopher Wayne Cleary, 27, is charged in 4th District Court with making a terroristic threat, a second-degree felony. His initial appearance in court is scheduled for Friday.
On Saturday, authorities in Colorado contacted Provo police and told them that Cleary had posted threatening messages on Facebook, according to charging documents. He had also arrived in Provo from Colorado the day before.
"All I wanted was a girlfriend," he wrote, according to a police affidavit. "All I wanted was to be loved, yet no one cares about me I'm 27 years old and I've never had a girlfriend … this is why I'm planning on shooting up a public place soon and being the next mass shooter cause I'm ready to die and all the girls the turned me down is going to make it right by killing as many girls as I see."
The posts also included Cleary's picture, which police used to identify him, the charges state.
The concern level among investigators was elevated because there were several women's marches taking place in Utah that day, including in Provo and Salt Lake City.
An FBI agent and members of the Utah County Major Crime Task Force located Cleary at a local McDonald's restaurant and arrested him. Cleary told investigators that he was "upset and not thinking clearly" when he made the posts, according to the affidavit.
"He told me he had deleted the Facebook post because he'd been receiving threats from other people since posting it," the report states.
But Colorado authorities also said that "this is a pattern of behavior with Cleary" who is currently on felony probation in Jefferson County, Colorado, for "stalking and threatening women," charging documents state.
Cleary was being held Thursday without bail in the Utah County Jail.
