Detectives with the Gulfport Police Department arrested 20-year-old Ter'on Jerome Forrester on Wednesday, June 30, on charges of written threats to kill or conduct a mass shooting, which is a second-degree felony.
In a press release, police said that last Saturday, Forrester shared a public video to Instagram Live, depicting him holding an AR-15 style pistol, equipped with an extended magazine and a scope attached.
The video shows a man pointing a firearm at a busy roadway toward a parking lot where two Gulfport Police Department vehicles were parked. Two PSTA buses and multiple cars pass through the gun scope line of sight. The video was captioned "bored af", "got 40 fa dey ass". Police claim the video was taken from Forrester's backyard.
CL Tampa Bay sent an inquiry to find out if Forrester has legal representation and to hear his side of the story, but did not receive a response.
On Wednesday, Gulfport detectives, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Pinellas County Sheriff's Office deputies, located and arrested Forrester. Forrester was issued a Risk Protection Order, which is designed to enhance public safety by restricting firearm and ammunition possession by a person who poses a danger to himself/herself or others. Police say the AR-15 was recovered during the investigation. Forrester is currently being held in the Pinellas County Jail with a $10,000 bond.
The firearm did not belong to Forrester, but he had access to it because it was legally purchased, police say. Laws created by right wing politicians make weapons easier to get their hands on in Florida as compared to states with tighter gun regulations.
In May, Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Preemption of Firearms and Ammunition Regulation bill into law after the Republican controlled Legislature voted in favor 78-39. The law, which takes effect starting July 1, broadens a 2011 law that can make local governments pay as much as $100,000 in damages if they are sued for imposing gun regulations, and helps bolster rules that prevent laws that regulate the “purchase, sale, transfer, taxation, manufacture, ownership, possession, storage, and transportation.”
Yesterday, DeSantis signed a law that allows concealed carry permit owners to carry guns into places of worship that have a school attached.
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This article appears in Jul 1-7, 2021.