Lake County Gazette

A Chicago man previously convicted of making a terrorist threat was arrested after threatening a military-style mass shooting at the Lake County Courthouse. The suspect was arrested by Chicago Police on June 27, two weeks after making the threat.

According to a Lake County Sheriff's Office press release, the office learned that a man passed a note to a security guard working at a restaurant in Chicago's Riverwalk area. The note indicated that a mass shooting with "military precision" would occur at the Lake County Courthouse. It also made threats against a Lake County judge and a Chicago Police officer who worked as a task force officer with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The Lake County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Division launched an investigation, according to the press release.

The security guard who received the note spotted the suspect in the Riverwalk area on June 27 and contacted the Chicago Police Department, according to another press release from the Lake County Sheriff's Office. The suspect was located and taken into custody. He was identified as Daniel B. Pederson of East Cullerton Street, Chicago. After his identification, Lake County Sheriff's Detectives and the Lake County State's Attorney's Office worked to obtain an arrest warrant for one count of threatening a public official, a class 3 felony.

The Sheriff's Warrants Team took custody of Pederson in Chicago on June 28, according to the press release from the Lake County Sheriff's Office. He was transported to the Lake County Jail to await his first court appearance. The Lake County State's Attorney's Office planned to file a petition to detain the suspect. Additional charges are possible.