By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- Eleazareli Maycock, 20, of Macomb Township, Michigan, was arrested and detained following his initial appearance on charges of possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number, a federal felony carrying up to 10 years imprisonment.
- The suspect allegedly scratched the phrase “there is no God” into a Savage Arms .22 caliber rifle with the serial number intentionally removed, the same statement made by Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley before his 2021 attack that killed four students and wounded seven others.
- The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force initiated investigation in May after receiving information about threatening statements Maycock allegedly made on YouTube, including praise for mass shooters.
- A YouTube account associated with Maycock’s address contained comments praising mass shooters, including a reference to Australian gunman Brenton Tarrant, who killed 51 people in two mosque shootings in New Zealand in 2019.
- Agents recovered the rifle during an interview at Maycock’s residence on May 22; forensic examination determined the serial number damage could not have resulted from normal usage or accident.
MACOMB COUNTY, MICH. — A 20-year-old Macomb Township resident was detained Thursday after appearing before a federal magistrate on charges of possessing a firearm with an intentionally removed serial number and making threatening statements online connected to multiple mass shooting incidents.
Eleazareli Maycock made his initial appearance on June 18 before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Kimberly G. Altman, who ordered him detained without bail pending a detention hearing scheduled for Tuesday. The charge carries a maximum 10-year federal felony penalty upon conviction.
According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force began investigating Maycock in May after receiving information that he had made threatening statements on YouTube. Following the investigation, agents interviewed Maycock at his home on May 22, during which the suspect admitted to possessing a .22 caliber rifle.
During the residence search, investigators recovered a Savage Arms .22 caliber rifle with its serial number heavily scratched and obliterated. Agents noted that Maycock had carved the phrase “there is no God” into the firearm, accompanied by a star surrounded by a circle.
That phrase was uttered by Ethan Crumbley during a video he posted the night before he attacked Oxford High School in Michigan on November 30, 2021. Crumbley killed four students and wounded seven others in the shooting. He pleaded guilty to his crimes in October 2022 and is serving a life sentence without possibility of parole.
Forensic examination revealed the damage to the serial number “could not have occurred through normal usage or an accident,” federal agents wrote in the complaint. Agents also confirmed the firearm was manufactured by Savage Arms outside Michigan and therefore traveled in interstate commerce, establishing federal jurisdiction.
During a June 9 follow-up interview, Maycock told investigators he purchased the rifle new from a Dunham’s Discount Sports location in Sterling Heights. However, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents confirmed the weapon’s out-of-state manufacture.
FBI investigators also documented that a YouTube account associated with Maycock’s address contained multiple comments praising mass shooters. One comment referenced Brenton Tarrant, the Australian gunman responsible for shooting attacks at two mosques in New Zealand on March 15, 2019, killing 51 people. The posted message stated that the author would “be the next brenton tarrant trust me.”