SAN ANTONIO — A New Braunfels man has pleaded guilty in a San Antonio federal court to a charge of attempt to receive firearm to use to commit a felony.
Court documents show that 20-year-old Cameron Darrick Peterson had been planning mass shooting since November 2022.
On Jan. 4, 2024, Peterson reportedly went to a New Braunfels pawn shop and attempted to buy a 12-gauge shotgun but was denied due to his age and the type of firearm he was trying to purchase.
On May 31, went back to the pawn shop and tried to purchase the same gun, but was denied for a second time.
On June 5, the FBI obtained an arrest warrant and took Peterson into custody. Investigators searched his home and found an "altered .22 caliber long rifle with a sawed-off buttstock," along with six magazines loaded with 60 rounds.
The following day, agents were able to look through Peterson's Instagram account which uncovered comments Peterson had made about his plans to attack a gas station. That same day, Peterson was recorded from jail reportedly giving instructions to a witness to destroy or hide a videotape he had made surveilling the layout of a grocery store for a future planned attack.
On June 10, investigators searched Peterson's home a second time and seized a box that contained 11 aerosol containers and "other ingredients to manufacture destructive devices." One container reportedly had an "Improvised Explosive Device" that was determined by authorities to be readily operational. The device had not been registered in the National Firearms Registry, nor could it have been due to Peterson's age.
Peterson faces up to 10 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 5, 2025.
