A St. Louis Cardinals fan was arrested Friday after he insinuated, police say, that he would bomb the World Series to keep the Boston Red Sox from defeating his favorite team.
Bobby Metzinger, a 31-year-old St. Louis resident, tweeted bomb threats and references to the Boston Marathon bombing using a now-deleted Twitter account, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. In the posts, Metzinger referenced the same type of bomb used in the attack that killed three people and injured hundreds more in April.
On Saturday, Metzinger was charged with making a terroristic threat, the Post-Dispatch reports. He was initially held on $10,000 bond, but was released from jail Monday.
He has deleted his Twitter account, but another account, “@BestFansStLouis,” managed to capture the tweets before they could be taken down. “The [World Series] will be another finish line not crossed by [Boston],” Metzinger reportedly tweeted. “Putting my loft up for a ridiculous 'Boston-only' rate for the [World Series]. Pressure cooker sold separately.”
Pressure cooker bombs were used at the Boston Marathon finish line on April 15.
St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson doesn’t believe Metzinger actually intended to follow through on his bomb threats, but decided to take the necessary precautions. In an interview with the Post-Dispatch, he compared the Twitter threats to someone walking onto a plane and making terroristic statements.
“I wasn’t going to take any chances with the safety of the fans and Major League Baseball,” Dotson told the paper. “We follow through on threats like this all the time, but certainly everyone’s attention is heightened because of the World Series."
But Metzinger’s threats weren’t limited to a potential bombing; he also reportedly tweeted a reference to a song by Offspring, a rock band, which discusses gun violence, Deadspin reports. “Listening to Offspring’s 'Bad Habit' and the lyrics just ring true of what will go down very soon,” Metzinger reportedly tweeted. The post reportedly prompted several people to report him to the police.
While details on Metzinger’s life are scant, Deadspin managed to dig up a few pieces of information, as well as a source that’s personally acquainted with the man. He reportedly graduated from St. Louis University, works in marketing, and held a job as a social media manager until a recent firing, the source told Deadspin. Metzinger is also a former Bleacher Report writer.
Who Is Bobby Metzinger? Cardinals Fan Arrested After Tweeting World Series Bomb Threats, References To Boston Marathon Bombing [PHOTO]
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