Mall Shooting Announced In Advance On 4chan

The mall shooting in Virginia may been announced in advance on the message board 4chan.

Minutes before Neil A. MacInnis, an 18-year-old community college student, allegedly started shooting at the New River Valley Mall, he reportedly posted a message on the /b/ message board.

The message on the website has been taken down but before it was removed a screenshot was taken by Wired.

Macinnis writes that he wanted to announce the mall shooting in advance because he didn’t want the media to screw up the details.

The message on 4chan reads: “My name is neil Macinnis and I go to new river community college in Christiansburg Virgina. 10 minutes away from Virginia tech. I’m gonna give y’all the details because the news never gets it right. Stevens 320 shotgun. Buck shots and slugs.”

The message also contained links to an audio feed of the crime.

The posting continues: “Wanna listen? Www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/9365/?rl=rr. If tha doesn’t work search New river valley public safety.”

The 4chan post also points to his school profile and asks the members of 4chan to wish him luck during the shooting.

The message continues: “I’m a bit nervous because I’ve never really handled a shotgun but a few times with the Christiansburg police. Anyways this is not a highscores game but actually a lesson (that’s why I’m at school). Wanna see my eportfolio/what I look like? Www.nrccstudents.org/macinnisn/ Make sure there is a slash at end. Also pic related I’m here at school writing this. Wish me luck. An heroing [suicide — Ed.] is not necessary unless I get fucked out the ass. It’s pretty busy.”

After the post was published, a members of the 4chan community asked MacInnis to post a photo of himself and an address. A few minutes later another member added: “I can’t believe this is f***ng real…wtf.”

Gawker reports that Christianburg police received a 911 call about a man with a gun at the mall about three minutes after the post was published.

According to USA Today, MacInnis was charged with shooting two women during the mall shooting in Virginia. Both women are currently in the hospital. The 18-year-old surrendered when he was confronted by a security guard at the New River Valley Mall.

In his school profile, which MacInnis linked to from the 4chan post, the 18-year-old shooter says that he likes to “go for long walks” and “explore new things.” He also says that he has a “beautiful brown tabby” and likes to post funny pictures on the internet.