Tucson man accused to threatening mass shooting at U of A

A Tucson man was arrested Monday after he allegedly threatened to commit a mass shooting at the University of Arizona, campus officials say.

Michael Pengchong Lee, 27, was arrested by campus police with the assistance of the FBI, the UA's Office of Public Safety said Tuesday night in a news release.

UAPD was first alerted to a group chat Sunday night after messages were allegedly sent by Lee threatening a "mass tragedy and atrocity at the UofA soon." When a member of the group chat asked Lee what he meant, he said "a Mass shooting."

Lee is not a student at the university, authorities say.

Messages allegedly sent by Lee threatened "the day of Retribution is upon us" and that he would get his revenge on all the "chads and stacies," which is suspected to mean fraternity and sorority members, according to court records.

Lee allegedly said in the group chat, "the 10th anniversary of the day of retribution is may 23, 2023... but isn't the UofA gonna be out of session by then?"

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Investigators say Lee was referring to what's known as the 2014 Isla Villa killings, or the Isla Villa Massacre, in which Elliot Rodger killed six people and injured another 14 near the University of California, Santa Barbara campus before shooting himself.

"We want the community to know this case is an example of a successful collaborative effort among UAPD, the Threat Assessment and Management Team (TAMT), and the FBI's Southern Arizona Violent Crime and Gang Task Force," said Steve Patterson, interim vice president and chief safety officer for the University's Office of Public Safety.

"There is no current or pending threat to the University community from this individual, and no other individuals are being sought," he said in a written statement.

Lee was located Monday after he was stopped for speeding, court records show. Lee later admitted to being the author of the threats, officials say.

Lee was arrested on suspicion of one charge of making a terroristic threat and booked into the Pima County jail. Federal charges may follow, the news release said.