An Ohio man has pleaded guilty to planning a hate crime to shoot at least 3,000 women at Ohio State University in 2021, according to the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
The DOJ said in a statement that 22-year-old Tres Genco, a self-described “incel”, or “involuntary celibate”, wrote a manifesto, in which he pledged to "slaughter" women "out of hatred, jealousy and revenge," referring to death as the “great equalizer.”
The statement pointed out that law enforcement agents also discovered Genco’s separate note that indicated he hoped to “aim big” for a kill count of 3,000 people and that he intended to attend military training. According to the statement, the note singled out the same date as a 2014 mass shooting committed by “incel” Elliot Rodger that claimed the lives of six people at the University of California in Santa Barbara.
The DOJ also revealed that in 2019, Genco 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.”
US Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio, in turn, stated that Genco “formulated a plot to kill women and intended to carry it out,” adding that Ohio’s “federal and local law enforcement partners stopped that from happening.”
“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,” Parker stressed.
The “incel” movement is a predominantly male online community which unites those who harbor anger towards women and who seek to commit violence in support of their belief that women unjustly deny them sexual or romantic attention.