PASADENA, Md. — It was Tuesday when Anne Arundel County Police responded to the Gischel Machine Company in Pasadena.
Hidden away in an office park, the manager told detectives his employee, Mark Rutkowski not only threatened him, but that he threatened mass violence to the entire work place.
"Threatened to quote, unquote shoot the business up,” said Anne Arundel County Police Sergant Jackie Davis. “Our officer did a little bit of digging and found that these threats could be legitimate and that the suspect had access to a firearm."
More like a hundred firearms.
Police say under Maryland's red flag law, detectives responded to Rutkowski's home where they found well over a hundred guns -- everything from a small revolver to an AR-style assault rifle.
But the story isn't just about what did happen, it is very much about what didn't happen; Gischel machine company employs 14 people.
"In our line of work, it is hard for us to put a number or quantify the negative or what didn't happen but in this case we do feel that we stopped over a dozen people from being murdered,” Davis said. “We felt that this man was a threat."
As did the employees.
WMAR-2 News could not reach any of them for comment today but Rutkowski himself remains in jail.
He was charged with threat of mass violence which carries with it a 10-year sentence if convicted.
He is currently being held without bail.
