A man was arrested after bringing a loaded gun and knives into a Virginia church service Sunday after "vague threats" he posted on Instagram sparked a multi-state investigation, police said.
Rui Jiang, 35, of Falls Church, near Arlington, was charged on Sunday with making threats of bodily harm and carrying a dangerous weapon to a place of religious worship, the Prince William Police Department said in a news release.
Officers responded to Park Valley Church in Haymarket, about 40 miles southwest of Falls Church, just after 10 a.m. after receiving a warning about a "possible threat of violence," the department said.
The warning initially came from out of state, they said, after police in Anne Arundel County in Maryland received a report from a resident in Laurel saying they had spotted "suspicious and concerning" Instagram posts from the suspect. It was not immediately clear how the Maryland resident came across the posts or if they knew the suspect.
"In the postings, vague threats of violence were made, some of which included images of a location later determined to be Park Valley Church," Prince William County police said.
Authorities were able to quickly locate a potential address for the Jiang in Falls Church, prompting police in Fairfax County to dispatch officers to the residence, but they did not find him there.
As the investigation continued, police in Prince William County were alerted to the situation and dispatched officers to the Park Valley Church.
An off-duty plainclothes officer and church staff were able to locate the suspect and detained him near the entrance of the church without incident, police said.
It was later determined that Jiang had entered the building through a separate door and had been inside the church before being detained. Church services were going on at the time, police said.
The suspect was found to be carrying a loaded handgun, along with an additional magazine, as well as a folding knife and a folding "credit card" style knife, police said. He was found to have a concealed weapon permit and the firearm was not reported to have been stolen, they added.
Documents and electronic items were later seized at the residence associated with the suspect after an Emergency Substantial Risk Order and a search warrant were obtained, police said.
Jiang was being held without bond, police said. They have asked anyone who may have had previous contact with Jiang in the lead-up to Sunday's incident to contact Prince William County police at 703-792-7000.
