Michigan teenager with alleged mass shooting plans against synagogue caught by FBI
Jenny Goldsberry
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A Michigan teenager was allegedly caught with mass shooting plans against a synagogue.
FBI Special Agent Ryan Roskey filed a criminal complaint that alleges a mass casualty event was being planned against Shaarey Zedek Congregation in Southfield, Michigan. The revealed plans included weaponry and strategies for an attack slated for March 15, 2024.
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Sean Pietila, 19, was allegedly posting his plans on Instagram under an anonymous username. Piatila would wear masks, often one of a skull, while taking photos of himself, in order not to “show my face to the Feds,” according to the complaint. Instagram’s parent company Meta cooperated with the FBI to reveal what other accounts were connected to this anonymous one. Agents then examined the posts of all accounts and identified Pietila by a cat he often posed with on several accounts, among other clues.
On June 16, the FBI issued a search warrant and discovered Pietila had a 12-gauge shotgun, a .22 caliber rifle, a Sig Sauer .40 caliber pistol, all the accompanying ammunition, various knives, scopes, a camouflage tactical vest, a black tactical vest, more black skull masks, a red and white Nazi flag, a ghillie suit, gas masks, and military manuals on survival and sniping.
Agents also said they discovered Pietila had originally planned to enact the shooting a year prior but changed his plans. The date was significant to the 19-year-old because it was the same date of the mass shootings in New Zealand mosques in 2019, that killed more than 50 people.
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The Shaarey Zedek Congregation could not be reached for comment.
After a day in Chippewa County Correctional Facility, Pietila appeared in court for the first time Friday and was offered a public defender. He will next appear in court on June 22.