Crime & Safety

Herndon Man Sentenced to Prison for Foiled Mass Shooting Attempt in D.C.

A security guard managed to subdue Floyd Lee Corkins II until police arrived. The guard was shot in the arm.

Floyd Lee Corkins II of Herndon was sentenced to 25 years in prison plus five years of supervised release on Friday for attempting a mass shooting at the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 15, 2012.

READ: Herndon Man's Plan for Mass Shooting Stopped

According to the Fairfax Times, Corkins pled guilty in D.C. court in February to charges of committing an act of terrorism while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, and interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition. 

Corkins, 28, entered the Family Research Council building just before 11 a.m. that day, armed with a gun.

Corkins allegedly pointed the gun at a security guard in the lobby, who then tackled him. Corkins shot the security guard in the arm during a struggle, but, though injured, the guard eventually managed to wrestle the gun away from Corkins and subdue him until the D.C. police arrived.

Corkins told authorities after he was taken into custody that he had planned "to shoot as many people as possible, and smear Chick-fil-a sandwiches into their faces."

Corkins told authorities he wanted to "send a message" to the employees of the Family Research Council because they oppose gay marriage. Corkins' tie-in to Chick-fil-a stems from the fact that the company's president had, not long before this incident, spoken out publicly against gay marriage.

Other news outlets called Corkins' attempt at a mass shooting "methodically planned," and reported that he had purchased the gun only a week before, and had received firearms training only the night before.

Corkins' 25-year prison sentence is only a fraction of the 45 years prosecutors had said they were trying to achieve.


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