Newly-obtained documents have revealed that Jack Teixeira, who was indicted on six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information on a gaming platform, was described by his colleagues as “the active shooter kid.”
The revelation were outlined in an Air Force Inspector General report that was completed in August and since obtained by US media.
The findings detailed that Teixeira—who was arrested in April by the FBI—worried his fellow airmen, who feared he might “shoot up the place” after the since-accused leaker was told off for looking at classified information that had little to do with his job as a computer technician at Otis Air Force Base on Cape Cod.
The report adds that in 2022 an airman tried to warn his superiors that then-20-year-old Teixeira “exhibited a fringe perspective” emblematic of Ted Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber - a domestic terrorist who pursued an off-the-grid lifestyle, but was responsible for killing three people and maiming others over a nearly two-decade-long bombing campaign.
Teixeira had talked about “living off the grid” so he could “blow stuff up,” a close colleague had said.
Another guardsman added: “From all our training, this was a red flag, it was tripping all the indicators.”
The report also determined his colleagues were aware that Teixeira had been suspended when he was in high school for threatening to bring weapons onto school grounds. At the time, his language had prompted fellow students to speak to school officials, which later resulted in the involvement of local police.
15 December 2023, 18:58 GMT
Earlier this month, an investigation by the US Air Force resulted in the punishment of at least 15 members from Teixeira’s unit. The investigation found no evidence his unit’s leadership was aware of the alleged attacks, and it listed several “indirect factors” that allowed the leak to happen.
Those listed failures included: failure to inspect areas under command, inconsistent guidance for reporting security incidents, inconsistent definitions of the “need-to-know” concept and a lack of supervision on oversight and night shift operations.
Additionally, the investigation found the unit’s leadership was not “vigilant” in overseeing the actions of the soldiers under their command, nor did they prioritize mission security and “failed to seek proper action after becoming aware of [Teixeira’s] intelligence-seeking activities.”
As a result, the military punished 15 personnel in relation to the leak. Teixeira’s former unit, the 102nd Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group was also taken off its mission following the leak.