Jefferson City man charged with threatening to shoot elderly at business
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
A 78-year-old man was arrested Wednesday by the Jefferson City Police Department after witnesses say he was making threats for two months to shoot employees 60 years old and older.
Gilberto Gomez, of Jefferson City, is charged with second-degree making a terroristic threat. He is being held without bond at the Cole County Jail. An arraignment hearing was held Tuesday.
Two employees of the business allegedly told management that Gomez had been making hand gestures that looked like a gun and made repeated comments about wanting to shoot several employees, according to a probable cause statement. The statement claims he planned to do it in December, which is when he was eligible to retire.
The probable cause statement lists the business address as 6325 Stertzer Road, the location of the Scholastic warehouse.
One witness wrote a statement claiming Gomez told her he would go into the building and shoot the elderly because "they don't need to be working." Gomez allegedly told her that she wasn't in danger because she was not old enough, according to the statement.
Another witness wrote a statement saying Gomez had been making threats to shoot up the business for two months. Gomez allegedly complained about unfair pay with regards to tenure not being rewarded and was going to shoot people in the business before leaving for Miami, according to the probable cause statement.
A third witness said they questioned Gomez about the threats. Gomez allegedly admitted to saying it but claimed it was a joke, according to the probable cause statement. He was placed on leave and told not to return until notified. The witness told police that fear was increasing among employees due to Gomez's retirement eligibility coming up and other recent shootings.
Police interviewed Gomez and he allegedly admitted to making comments about older people needing to die, but not by him. Police say he indicated that he also understood that comments like that shouldn't be said. Gomez allegedly told police that he does not own a gun.
