RANCHO CORDOVA, CALIFORNIA: According to deputies in Sacramento County, a registered sex offender terrorized a nearby park, attempting to run over individuals of Middle Eastern heritage and threatening to "shoot and bomb" them. Authorities initiated a manhunt for Robert Steven Avery, 33, before arresting him without incident Monday morning.
The alleged hate crime occurred Sunday night at 7.30 pm. The deputies received many 911 reports of a man trying to run over people at Heron Landing Park in Rancho Cordova, according to police.
"Callers also reported the subject targeting and yelling racial slurs at parkgoers of Middle Eastern descent, threatening to 'shoot and bomb' them," the Sheriff’s Office stated.
"From there, he’s yelling at kids, yelling at women… yelling at everybody he can that he was going to shoot them, he was going to bomb them, yelling all kinds of racial slurs," Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt Amar Gandhi told KXTV.
Who is Robert Avery?
Authorities believe Avery, a resident of nearby Orangeville, was the man who made threats and ran amok, and cited witness statements, video footage, and other evidence. He has been slapped with counts of assault with a deadly weapon, making criminal threats, and committing a hate crime.
According to sex offender records, Avery was previously convicted of annoying or molesting a child under the age of 18.
'No stone will be left unturned'
Rancho Cordova police and Sacramento County deputies confirmed that no one was injured in the incident. "Sheriff’s Bias Based Crimes Detectives and Crime Scene Investigators responded to the scene a short time later and began their investigation," they mentioned.
"We actually have our CSI unit, our crime scene investigations unit, that’s out there," Gandhi said, as per KCRA. "They’re taking measurements of the tire prints. I mean, we’re treating this a lot like we would treat a homicide scene. There’s no stone that will be left unturned."
When the manhunt was launched, deputies advertised a monetary reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest. Avery was said to be driving a 2012 Honda Insight.
"He is currently wanted for PC 245 (assault with a deadly weapon); PC 422 (criminal threats); and PC 422.6 (hate crime statute)," deputies said. They had considered him armed and dangerous.
