Arizona, United States

A man has been arrested for carrying out three shootings, targeting a Democratic office in the US state of Arizona, authorities said on Thursday (Oct 24). 

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Jeffrey Michael Kelly, 60, had more than 120 guns and more than 250,000 rounds of ammunition in his home, prosecutors said. This has further led law enforcement officers to believe that he may have been planning a mass shooting. 

Maricopa County prosecutor Neha Bhatia said, "This person was preparing to commit an act of mass casualty." 

Kelly has been detained on terrorism charges in connection with the shootings at the Democratic Party's campaign office in suburban Phoenix on September 16 and 23. 

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Following the shooting, the Arizona Democratic party was forced to close its office on October 6. Nobody was hurt during the shootings. 

All the shootings happened during midnight when the office was empty. However, it has prompted concerns about the safety of campaign workers and volunteers.

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Kelly fired BB pellets and then gunshots at the glass front door and a window of the Arizona Democrats’ field office, the police said. 

Police said Kelly, who was being held on three felony counts of acts of terrorism and four other counts related to the shootings, also placed anti-Democratic party signs outside his home, which were equipped with razor blades, and he attached bags containing an unknown white powder labelled “Biohazard”.

All this comes ahead of the US presidential elections scheduled on November 5. Violence in the country has risen ahead of the elections, including two assassination attempts on former president Donald Trump,  at a campaign rally and at one of his Florida golf courses.

Kelly has been scheduled to next appear in Maricopa County Superior Court on October 29. 

Arizona is one of the battleground states where the competition between Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump has been intense. 

(With inputs from agencies)