Law enforcement in Richmond, Virginia, announced Wednesday that police received an anonymous tip that they believe foiled a plan to carry out a mass shooting at a Fourth of July celebration.
Richmond Police Chief Gerald M. Smith stated during a press conference that an anonymous person called to alert the police that they had overheard people discussing a plan to open fire at an Independence Day event at Dogwood Dell Amphitheater in the city.
After receiving the tip, officers arrested two men whom they believed to be roommates. The men were arrested after police found assault rifles, a handgun and 223 rounds of ammunition in their home, Smith said.
One of the men, 52-year-old Julio Alvarado-Dubon, was arrested on Friday, when the weapons were discovered, according to Smith, while the other one, 38-year-old Rolman A. Balacarcel, was arrested on Tuesday. They have both been charged with being non-U.S. citizens in possession of firearms, the police chief said.
Per NBC News, a police spokesperson said Alvarado-Dubon and Balacarcel were from Guatemala and were not in the country legally.
Smith did not say what exactly the tipster had told law enforcement or what evidence was provided that specifically led the police to Alvarado-Dubon and Balacarcel.
News of the near-attack came in wake of the mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois that left seven people dead.
