Man calling himself an ‘incel’ plotted mass killing of women at university, feds say
An Ohio man was sentenced to prison after officials say he came up with a mass murder plot targeting women.
Tres Genco, 24, was convicted of attempting to commit a hate crime and sentenced by a federal judge, according to a Feb. 29 news release from U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
McClatchy news reached out to Genco’s attorney on March 4 but did not immediately hear back.
On March 12, 2020, the Highland County Sheriff’s Office was called to Genco’s home by another person who said Genco locked himself in his room with a gun, according to a criminal complaint.
Officers spoke with Genco and he allowed them to search his room, where they found a handgun hidden in a vent and some handwritten documents, the complaint said.
An “AR-15-style rifle” was also found in the trunk of his vehicle, along with several loaded magazines, body armor and ammo boxes, documents said.
Investigators learned Genco self-identified as an incel and had profiles on incel websites between July 2019 and March 2020, according to an indictment.
“The Incel movement is a predominantly male online community that harbors anger towards women, fueled by their inability to convince women to engage in sexual activity with them,” officials said in a news release.
On one website, Genco bragged about how he put orange juice in a water gun and went around spraying women with it, court records said. He described the harassment as “extremely empowering.”
Investigators also found a manifesto by Genco in which he writes about being “deprived” of women, and his desire to “take away the power ... they withhold from me.”
In that manifesto, Genco also talks about being accepted into the U.S. Army, where he hoped to gain training to help him with his ultimate goal of carrying out a high-casualty mass shooting.
Though Genco did attend basic training, he was kicked out of the military “for entry level performance and conduct,” documents said.
Sometime between July 30, 2019 and Aug. 15, 2019, authorities say Genco wrote a note naming a university in Ohio as a potential target, according to the indictment.
Genco aspired to “aim big” and wrote he would kill “3,000 women” if he could, officials said.
“(Kill count) needs to be huge!” the note read, in part.
Officials say he bought tactical gloves, a bulletproof vest, a hoodie with the word “Revenge” on it, cargo pants, a bowie knife, a skull facemask, two Glock 17 magazines, “a 9mm Glock 17 clip, and a holster clip concealed carry for a Glock.”
Genco also conducted surveillance of an Ohio university and took detailed notes, according to officials.
“The track is primarily unused. Ages vary. The average appears to be early 20s,” the note read. “They have no check of any sort entering the building. I wasn’t questioned at all. Backpacks are very common.”
“Genco intended to carry out a devastating mass murder of innocent women in this state for no other reason than the fact that he hated them. Everybody deserves to live without threats of violence or fearing acts of terror,” U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker said.
In October, 2022, Genco pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to commit a hate crime. He was sentenced on Feb. 29 to more than six years in prison, according to officials.
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