Man scouted Ohio college in mass shooting plot to ‘slaughter’ women, feds say

HIGHLAND COUNTY, Ohio (WXIX) - A 21-year-old is facing charges after allegedly plotting a mass shooting to “slaughter” women at an Ohio university.

Tres Genco, of Hillsboro, Ohio, was arrested by federal agents Wednesday. according to Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Vipal J. Patel.

“I would consider him extremely dangerous, motivated and organized,” said Highland County Sheriff Det. Vinny Antinore.

Court documents allege the 21-year-old conducted surveillance at an Ohio university on Jan. 15, 2020.

The same day, Patel said, Genco allegedly searched online for topics including “planning a shooting crime” and “when does preparing for a crime become an attempt?”

During the investigation, Genco’s manifesto was found which claimed he would kill women “out of hatred, jealousy and revenge.”

Genco is a self-identified “Incel or involuntary celibate,” Patel said.

An Incel, explained by Patel, is an online community comprised of men who harbor anger towards women they think “unjustly deny them sexual or romantic attention.”

According to the indictment, Genco maintained profiles on a popular Incel website from at least July 2019 through mid-March 2020. Federal authorities say he was a frequent poster on the site.

Genco thought his “extremely empowering action,” as he called it, compared to that of Incel Elliot Rodger. In 2014, Rodger killed six people and injured 14 more at a California sorority house, according to Patel.

A note of Genco’s, which was found during the law enforcement investigation, said he hoped to kill 3,000 people.

Also in January 2020, the accused wrote a letter title “isolated” that he described as “the writings of the deluded and homicidal.”

Genco signed that document, “Your hopeful friend and murderer,” according to Patel.

Antinore described it as “disturbing.”

Highland County sheriff’s deputies went to Genco’s home in March of 2020 for a domestic issue between him and his mother.

“That’s when we noticed weapons and body armor that just looked out of place and prompted further questioning and investigation,” Antinore said.

He was charged Wednesday by a federal grand jury for attempting to commit a hate crime and one count of illegally possessing a machine gun.

The hate crime Genco faces is punishable by up to life imprisonment, Patel said. The machine gun charge is punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

He will remain in custody until a detention hearing Friday at 1:30 p.m.

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