Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News
“It’s become a gold-standard for community-led threat assessment teams,” said Special Agent Sam Ukeiley, an FBI threat management coordinator in the San Antonio Field Office. A former profiler in BAU, Ukeiley helped an earlier iteration of BTAG formalize their process in 2019 and integrate BAU’s threat assessment and threat management approach.
SAPD manages the program and has become a model for law enforcement agencies around the country that are considering something similar. “You make sure you’re addressing all the threats in an accountable and defensible manner, so nobody falls through the cracks at a minimum,” Ukeiley said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
It was, in part, that accountability model that alerted the BTAG to new concerning behaviors by the Laredo, Texas, man in late 2022. After being released from treatment, he posted a video clip on social media of himself driving past Robb Elementary, site of the mass shooting, and an image of a hand holding a rifle magazine.
On December 11, 2022, the man tried to buy a shotgun in San Antonio. When his application was delayed because he provided an incorrect home address, the FBI notified the local investigator, who arrested him on a state charge of making terroristic threats related to the Uvalde school shooting. The man was sentenced to jail, followed by a three-year period of supervised release. Post-release conditions will provide a structured reentry to society and enhance law enforcement’s options to monitor for concerning changes in behavior.
In a statement at sentencing, the prosecutor praised the effort that led up to the young man’s arrest and detention. “This is a great example of coordinated efforts by local and federal and law enforcement to keep our community safe using the full panoply of prosecutorial options at our disposal,” said Jaime Esparza, United States attorney for the Western District of Texas.
Sgt. Matthew Porter, supervisor of BTAG, said not every reported threat requires the team’s attention, but he would rather people err on the side of caution. “I would rather someone report something to us that’s not beneficial, rather than the alternative,” he said.