Maricopa County Sheriff's officials say a man has been taken into custody after threatening to shoot churchgoers in the north Valley.
The investigation began on February 19, when detectives received a Facebook post in Romanian. The post reportedly translated into concerning statements, but nothing specific about the North Valley Romanian Pentecostal Church.
A witness reportedly overheard a phone conversation in Romanian on speakerphone. In that call, Ismaiel Damian indicated he was planning on entering the church, located near 15th Avenue and Happy Valley Road, to shoot and kill many people in attendance with his machine gun.
Detectives monitored Damian leaving for the church and took him into custody on Sunday.
A .38 Special Taurus revolver was located in his vehicle.
Damian was booked into 4th Avenue Jail for misdemeanor use of an electronic communication to terrify, intimidate, threaten or harass.
