Man Who Allegedly Plotted Mass Shooting Of Sorority Girls For 'Revenge' Arrested

A 21-year-old man in Highland County, Ohio, who self-identified as an "incel" was arrested by federal agents Wednesday after he allegedly plotted a mass shooting of women at a university in the state, prosecutors revealed.

Tres Genco, of Hillsboro, was charged by a federal grand jury with one count of attempting to commit a hate crime and one count of illegally possessing a machinegun, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio said in a statement released on the same day as Genco's arrest.

Deputies from the Highland County Sheriff's Department responded to Genco's residence on March 12, 2020, and found a firearm with a bump stock attached, several loaded magazines, body armor and boxes of ammunition, among other things, according to the attorney's office.

Police also found a modified Glock-style 9mm semi-automatic pistol absent of any manufacturer's mark or serial number hidden in a heating vent located in Genco's room while searching his residence, prosecutors said.

Genco self-identified as an "incel," or "involuntary celibate," which prosecutors defined as "an online community of predominantly men who harbor anger towards women."

"Incels advocate violence in support of their belief that women unjustly deny them sexual or romantic attention to which they believe they are entitled," the attorney's office stated.

Genco allegedly wrote a manifesto prior to his arrest that stated he would "slaughter" women "out of hatred, jealousy and revenge." He allegedly also searched online for sororities and a university in Ohio on the day he wrote the manifesto.

On Jan. 15, 2020, Genco allegedly conducted surveillance at an unnamed Ohio university, and on the same day, searched online for topics including "planning a shooting crime" and "when does preparing for a crime become an attempt?"

According to the attorney's office, Genco allegedly purchased tactical gloves, a bulletproof vest, a hoodie bearing the word "Revenge," cargo pants, a bowie knife, a skull facemask, two Glock 17 magazines, a 9mm Glock 17 clip and a holster clip concealed carry for a Glock in 2019.

Genco allegedly also wrote another document titled "isolated" that he described as "the writing of the deluded and homicidal,” the statement said. He allegedly signed the document, "Your hopeful friend and murderer."

Genco had maintained profiles on a popular incel website from at least July 2019 through mid-March 2020 and was a frequent poster, according to an indictment.

In one post, he shared his previous experience of spraying orange juice on women and couples using a water gun as an "extremely empowering action" that was akin to the conduct of Elliot Rodger.

Rodger, a known incel who killed six people and injured 14 others in May 2014 in Isla Vista, California, had sprayed a group of college students with orange juice from a water gun prior to his attack.

Law enforcement agents discovered an alleged note by Genco that indicated he had hoped to "aim big" for a kill count of 3,000 people with a reference to the date of Rodger's attack, according to the attorney's office.

Additionally, Genco pushed through with his intentions to attend military training and entered Army Basic Training in Georgia starting in August 2019. He would later be discharged in December of the same year for entry-level performance and conduct.

Genco faces life imprisonment for the hate crime charge, while the machine gun charge is punishable by up to 10 years of prison.