Police: Man threatened mass shooting if Golden Knights lost Stanley Cup game

A Las Vegas man was taken into custody hours before Tuesday’s Vegas Golden Knights Stanley Cup-winning game after police said he threatened a mass shooting — similar to the Oct. 1, 2017 massacre — if the Knights were to lose, according to an arrest report.

Matthew DeSavio, 33, posted the threat on his Facebook page, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

The Facebook post warned the public to get ready for another Mandalay Bay massacre if the Golden Knights did not beat the Florida Panthers, according to the arrest report.

“I WARNED YA’LL OCTOBER 1ST WAS JUST A PREVIEW,” DeSavio’s post allegedly stated.

The mass shooting that was carried out from the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay killed 60 people at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the other side of the Strip, northeast of the hotel. It has been referred to as the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

Metro police said they were alerted to Savio’s alleged threats — which also came via phone calls and direct messages on the Facebook app — by three different people on Tuesday. Police said one of those people has been stalked by DeSavio for nine years and that DeSavio’s behavior had escalated in recent weeks.

All of the callers’ names were blacked out in the arrest report.

Under prior arrests, Metro police listed 13 cases that DeSavio has faced since 2015.

“DeSavio’s criminal history includes but is not limited to a pattern of charges of Terroristic Threats, Harassment, Stalking, Violation of (Temporary Protective Order), Destroy Property of Another, Engage in Lewdness in a Public Place and Domestic Battery,” police wrote in the arrest report.

The names of the alleged victims and witnesses in the arrest report were blacked out, but it appears at least two told Metro police about their fear that DeSavio will harm them and their families.

DeSavio was diagnosed with a condition that also was redacted from the report, and has been displaying “erratic and threatening behavior for over a decade,” the report alleged.

While police were interviewing one of the alleged victims at her office Tuesday, DeSavio allegedly called her to say he was heading there. “I’ll slit your throat,” DeSavio allegedly said during the call.

The person had called 911 to report that she feared for her life, as well as the lives of those at the Stanley Cup Final game at T-Mobile Arena later that night, after learning of DeSavio’s Facebook post that day.

Detectives arrested DeSavio at 1:45 p.m. after he arrived at the victim’s office, the report says.

DeSavio faces felony counts of making threats of terrorism, aggravated stalking and stalking that uses the internet or electronic communication. He also faces a gross misdemeanor count of violating a temporary protection order against stalking or harassment.

DeSavio remained in custody at the Clark County Detention Center on Friday, jail records showed.

Contact Brett Clarkson at bclarkson@reviewjournal.com