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Target terror: Man arrested for plotting in-store attacks

Posted at 12:14 PM, Feb 17, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-17 12:14:44-05

OCALA, Fla. — A Florida man was arrested for planning to set off explosives inside Target stores up and down the East Coast, including Virginia.

Mark Charles Barnett, 48, planned to place the explosives inside boxes of foodon Target store shelves, according to an Ocala.com report.

Federal investigators said Barnett’s motive was to terrorize Target to make the company’s stock fall, so he could then buy it at a cheaper price.

“We took it very seriously. We worked very quickly,” ATF special agent Daryl McCrary told WKMG. “We just wanted to make sure that we brought this under control and got this person apprehended in off the street.”

Barnett, investigators said, was willing to pay a “confidential source” $10,000 to plant 10 booby trapped boxes of cereal, pasta, and breakfast bars inside Target stores.

When someone would grab the box — the box would be rigged to explode.

The source ended up going to investigators, who then raided Barnett’s Florida home and made the arrest.

Neighbors said they had no idea about his plan — nor did they see anything suspicious.

“He kept to himself for the most part. I would see him and he would wave. But he never try to come over and we never try to go over,” one neighbor said.

Barnett faces charges of possession of a firearm or destructive device by a previously convicted felon. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

The report did not indicate which stores were on the list of potential targets.