US man arrested over 'gun threat'

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A 20-year-old man has been arrested in Florida after posting an online threat to re-enact last year's mass shooting at Virginia Tech, police have said.

Officers who searched the home of Calin Chi Wong found a cache of weapons that included four AK-47 assault rifles and 5,000 rounds of ammunition.

Mr Wong has been charged with making written threats to kill or injure.

Police said Mr Wong had told them he was just upset and had no intention of actually carrying out a massacre.

He has been released on bail. Additional charges may be brought, police said.

''Potential to act'

Authorities in Oregon raised the alarm after learning of a message posted by Mr Wong on the internet on 25 March, Detective Antonio Aquino of Homestead Police, Florida, said.

When Homestead police raided the home Mr Wong shares with his parents two days later, they found 13 firearms in total.

Two of the assault rifles had been hidden in Mr Wong's parents' wardrobe, Mr Aquino said.

Some of the rounds of ammunition had the capacity to pierce armour or "take down aircraft or military machinery", he was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying.

Mr Aquino said Mr Wong had already come to the attention of his police department in February, when he complained of being cheated of money after ordering a gun over the internet.

"After speaking to him and seeing his frustration, I believe he had the potential to carry out some kind of threat," he said.