Cambridge Man Faces Ammunition Charges After Talking About Shooting Sprees
CAMBRIDGE (CBS) - A Cambridge man has pleaded not guilty to ammunition charges Wednesday after his roommate said she heard him talking about shooting sprees, mass shootings and starting a revolution.
Brian Schwarztrauber's roommate reported her concerns to police Saturday, saying she heard him on the phone with someone saying the phrases "shooting spree," "with ammo strapped to my back," and "I'll shoot through windshields if I have to."
Schwarztrauber, 54, a finance and accounting consultant, was placed into protective custody while allegedly intoxicated at a gun show in Wilmington on Sunday. He was found to have 150 rounds of 9mm ammunition illegally, police said. Police also reported that a search of Schwarztrauber's room yielded 20 rounds of ammunition in his nightstand.
Schwarztrauber's roommate, Amanda Greenfield, told WBZ after filing the police report she barricaded herself in the apartment out of fear for her own safety.
"I wanted to look someone in the eyes and say with calm conviction that he is guilty and that he is dangerous and he's prepared to kill people," Greenfield said.
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said that although no firearms were found, Schwarztrauber indicated that he would soon be in possession of a sniper rifle.
"There had been a definite change in his rhetoric," Greenfield said. "It had become more violent. It had become more concrete. He was using visual images. He was drawing from actual stories on the news. And this is when I became aware that the person living in that room was maybe not the person I moved in with five years ago."
Greenfield said she noticed a change in her roommate about a week ago.
"That was when I heard a three hour conversation, detailing and finalizing just how he was going to kill these people," Greenfield said.
Much of Schwarztrauber's alleged anger was politically motivated, according to police. Ryan said that Schwarztrauber was "almost exclusively politically motivated" and had a particular hatred for the Democratic Party.
"Elizabeth Warren, Nancy Pelosi. He did mention Barack Obama," Greenfield said.
Authorities said Schwarztrauber does not have a Massachusetts license to carry or a firearms identification card.
"What is concerning about this is that the charges he faces really don't reflect the dangerousness of this situation," Ryan said.
Schwarztrauber was charged with one count of unlawful possession of ammunition at Cambridge District Court. His bail was set at $25,000 cash, with orders to stay away from potential witnesses, gun shows and any store that sells guns. He's also facing charges in Woburn for the illegal purchase of 150 rounds of ammunition from that Wilmington gun show.
Stephen Fowler, 69 of Guilford, Conn., will also be charged with selling Schwarztrauber the ammunition without complying with the requirements relating to Firearms Identifications Cards.
