A 22-year-old Ohio man admitted in federal court Tuesday that he planned a mass shooting at Ohio State University, officials said.
Tres Genco pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to commit a hate crime, which carries a possible life sentence because the plot involved an attempt to kill, according to prosecutors.
Officials said Genco identified as an “Incel,” short for involuntarily celibate.
“The Incel movement is an online community of predominantly men who harbor anger towards women,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release announcing the plea. “Incels advocate violence in support of their belief that women unjustly deny them sexual or romantic attention to which they believe they are entitled.”
In March 2020, the Highland County Sheriff’s Department was called to Genco’s home, according to court documents. Someone reported Genco had barricaded himself in his room with a gun, and the person was worried he might hurt himself or planned to hurt others.
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After getting Genco to surrender, investigators said they found an AR-15-style rifle with a bump-stock and Glock pistol modified to fire fully automatically with no serial number. As part of his plea, prosecutors said, Genco admitted he possessed those weapons as part of his plot.
Investigators said they also found many writings dating back to at least 2019. Genco wrote a memoir in which he said he would “slaughter” women “out of hatred, jealousy and revenge,” and referred to death as the “great equalizer,” prosecutors say.
Genco wrote a note indicating he hoped to kill as many as 3,000 people, prosecutors said. They added he attended Army basic training in Georgia from August through December 2019, though he was discharged.
That year, Genco purchased tactical gloves, a bulletproof vest, a hoodie bearing the word “Revenge,” cargo pants, a bowie knife, a skull facemask and several magazines, prosecutors said.
Court documents indicate that Ohio State University was a target. FBI agents said he conducted surveillance of a university and did online research on sororities.
Prosecutors also said Genco had compared himself to Elliot Rodger, who killed six people and injured 14 in 2014 near the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Two of the victims were women outside a sorority house. Rodger outlined his desire to punish women in YouTube videos.
“Genco formulated a plot to kill women and intended to carry it out. Our federal and local law enforcement partners stopped that from happening,” U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker said in a statement. “Hate has no place in our country – including gender-based hate – and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to vigorously prosecute any such conduct.”
An attorney for Genco has yet to respond to an email from the Cincinnati Enquirer, part of the USA TODAY Network, seeking comment.