The Grand Chute Police Department has confirmed that 28-year-old Christopher Hawkins, the suspect in the Fox River Mall threat, is in custody.
According to a criminal complaint, Hawkins threatened to "shoot up" the Fox River Mall and an Appleton hotel before fleeing the area on Tuesday, December 27.
Officers from several area law enforcement agencies, including the Appleton Police Department, Outagamie County Sheriff's Department and the Wisconsin State Patrol assisted with the evacuation of the Fox River Mall.
During the incident, many people locked themselves in rooms and hid until they were notified that the area was secure.
The complaint reveals that Hawkins had been in an argument with his girlfriend the night of the threat, which prompted an evacuation of the mall.
Hawkins' girlfriend reportedly called the Grand Chute Police Department after the two were involved in an argument at the Copper Leaf Hotel.
Hawkins' girlfriend stated that he pulled out a handgun and said he was going to kill himself.
She says Hawkins then announced he was going to Chicago and left.
Afterwards, she says she spoke with Hawkins again on the phone when Hawkins said he was going to "shoot up" the Copper Leaf Hotel.
Hawkins' reportedly said he would kill himself, but he would not go without her.
The complainant reports Hawkins' girlfriend received another phone call stating that he was in the mall parking lot and threatening to "shoot up" the mall.
Hawkins reportedly told her she might as well call the police.
"I guarantee by the end of the night someone is going to die," Hawkins said, according to the complaint.
After Hawkins' girlfriend reported the incident to the police, authorities were able to identify him through the use of in-house records.
Investigators learned Hawkins had crossed the border from Wisconsin to Minnesota, and at that time Grand Chute Police requested the assistance of the FBI.
Hawkins was found in a parking lot and arrested without incident. He was taken to the Hennepin County Jail in Minnesota.
Hawkins is facing a charge for making terrorist threats with the use of a dangerous weapon.
Hawkins is currently being held on a weapons charge in the Hennepin County Jail in Minneapolis.
The Outagamie County district attorney is working on Hawkins’s extradition back to Wisconsin.
