Two men have been arrested after allegedly threatening violence to attendees at the Pokemon World Championship in Boston.
Download the FOX25 Weather App For Boston and their News App for the hourly forecast and top headlines from MyFOXBoston.
A release from the Boston Police Department says they were notified of the social media threats on Thursday and were able to stop the two suspects as they attempted to enter the event a few hours later. The men were not arrested at that time.
Detectives discovered that the two men had driven from Iowa with several guns in their vehicle that they did not have licenses for.
After obtaining a search warrant for the vehicle, police found a 12-gauge shotgun, an AR-15, several hundred rounds of ammunition and a hunting knife.
On Friday, arrest warrants were issued for 18-year-old Kevin Norton and 27-year-old James Stumbo and the men were taken in to custody at their hotel in Saugus.
"The relationship between police and private sector security is important in both our community policing philosophy, as well as our counter-terrorism strategy. This incident is a good example of private security reaching out to their local Boston police district and relaying information to detectives and BRIC analysts in order to identify the very real threat. The BPD detectives did a great job in the stop and prevention of a potential tragedy,” BPD Bureau of Intelligence and Analysis Commander Superintendent Paul Fitzgerald said.
Both men are charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and other firearm related offenses.
In a statement, the Pokemon Company said they were made aware of the threat after attendees notified them of posts on social media.
"Prior to the event this weekend, our community of players made us aware of a security issue. We gathered information and gave it as soon as possible to the authorities at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center who acted swiftly and spearheaded communication with the Boston Police Department. Due to quick action, the potential threat was resolved. The Pokémon Company International takes the safety of our fans seriously and will continue to ensure proper security measures are a priority."
The FBI is assisting the Boston Police Department with this investigation.
This is a developing story, visit MyFoxBoston.com for the latest information as it becomes available.
