Ohio ‘incel’ faces life in prison in a plot to massacre 3,000 sorority girls

A man from Ohio who describes himself as an “incel” or “involuntary celibate” has pleaded guilty to plotting a mass shooting of about 3,000 women and sorority girls at a university in Ohio.

Tres Genco, 22, wrote a manifesto that revealed his plans to “slaughter” women “out of hatred, jealousy, and revenge.” In the manifesto, Genco referred to death as the “great equalizer” and said he wanted to “aim big” by killing 3,000 people.

While it has not been confirmed where Genco planned to carry out his attack, multiple sources speculate his target was Ohio State University.

In 2019, when he was planning the attack, Genco purchased gloves, a hoodie with the word “Revenge” on it, a bulletproof vest, a bowie knife, and a skull face mask. He also bought two Glock 17 magazines, a 9mm Glock 17 clip, and a holster clip, according to the DOJ.

According to court documents, the Highland County Sheriff’s Department was called to Genco’s home in March 2020 after an unidentified source reported that Genco had barricaded himself in his room with a firearm. Genco was living in Hillsboro at the time, which is just east of Cincinnati.

After law enforcement intervened, investigators found an AR-15 rifle and a Glock that had been modified to fire automatically and was without a serial number. They also found his sadistic writings and manifesto, which he titled “A Hideous Symphony.”

“I will slaughter out of hatred, jealousy, and revenge,” the manifesto said. “I will take away the power of life that they withhold from me, by showing there is more than just happiness and fulfillment, there is all-encompassing death, the great equalizer…”

The recovered writings revealed that Genco was planning his mass shooting for May 23, 2020, just two months after his arrest.

The “incel” was arrested in July 2021 and has since been in custody in Butler County. He was charged last year by a grand jury with one count of attempting to commit a hate crime.

On Tuesday, after Genco pled guilty, U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio said, “Genco formulated a plot to kill women and intended to carry it out. Our federal and local law enforcement partners stopped that from happening. Hate has no place in our country – including gender-based hate – and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to vigorously prosecute any such conduct.”

Genco was active in the “incel movement,” which is an online community of (mostly) men who are hateful towards women because they blame them for their lack of sexual activity. On a popular website for this community, Genco had multiple profiles on which he frequently posted. In one of his posts, Genco described spraying women and couples with a water gun full of orange juice, calling it an “extremely empowering action.”

U.S. Attorney Vipal Patel spoke on the community of incels, saying, “The Incel movement is an online community of predominantly men who harbor anger towards women. Incels advocate violence in support of their belief that women unjustly deny them sexual or romantic attention to which they believe they are entitled.”

Another incel, Elliot Rodger, reportedly took to the same odd hobby of spraying people with orange juice from a water gun. Rodger was responsible for the shooting of six people in 2014 outside the University of California Santa Barbara.

According to prosecutors, Genco faces a hate crime charge that is punishable by up to life in prison.