A Hollywood man was arrested Tuesday, accused of stockpiling a cache of weapons and pointing them at a public park from his 18th floor apartment.
The arrest potentially averted a mass shooting plot, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Braxton Johnson, 24, of Los Angeles, was arrested and booked on suspicion of making criminal threats, police said. He was being held on $500,000 bail, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reported.
"On the morning of January 31, 2023, Hollywood patrol officers responded to a possible male with mental illness call," the LAPD said in a statement.
"During the course of their investigation, it was determined the elements of Criminal Threats had been met," police said. "With the assistance of Hollywood detectives, search and arrest warrants were obtained. During the execution of a search warrant, several high-powered rifles, shotguns, handguns and a large cache of various munitions were recovered."
The department shared a photo on social media of weapons and ammunition seized during the search.
The LAPD thanked the public at a press conference for tipping them off to Johnson, saying it is possible the phone call could have prevented a mass shooting.
"The suspect was located on the 18th floor of an apartment building with large windows with a view, with a non-obstructed view of a public park, downstairs, and some of the rifles were pointed outside of the windows," LAPD Lt. Leon Tsap told KTLA.
A man who lived two doors down from the suspect recalled his encounter with Johnson to KNX News' Jon Baird.
"He came into my apartment and said, 'You have a better view than I even have so maybe this would be the ideal,'" the neighbor said, noting that the suspect clarified that it would be a good place to shoot from.
"I thought it was BS talk, like locker room talk," he continued.
The man said that he never felt threatened by Johnson.
The case was presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office for filing consideration, police said.
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