Denton man charged with threat of mass violence, malicious destruction of property

DENTON, Md. – A Denton man has been charged with threat of mass violence and other related charges following an incident at a firearms store early Friday morning.

At around 2:15 a.m., officers responded to a glass break alarm at a firearms store located in the 200 block of Market Street. On arrival, officers found that an unknown person(s) had used a brick to smash the front door glass. It was also observed that the suspect(s) has spray-painted the word “BLOOD” in red spray paint on the front window of the store.

Town video captured images of the suspect, who appeared to be a male, possibly in his 20s, with dark hair and a stocky build.

At around 2:45 a.m., the owner of the store reportedly received an email with the subject line saying, “next time it’s a Molotov.” The body of the email allegedly contained an obvious disdain for firearms merchants, and police say it was noted that there are several occupied apartments in the same building as the store.

Still photos of the suspect were obtained from various surveillance systems and reviewed by Denton Police officers and allied agency officers. The suspect was identified as 34-year-old Travis Gilliland of Denton. An arrest warrant was obtained, and on Monday, the warrant was served without incident.

Gilliland was charged with malicious destruction of property, threat of arson, and threat of mass violence. He was initially held without bail, but on Tuesday, he was released on a $50,000 unsecured bond.