A man in Columbus, Ohio has been arrested after threatening to gun down 85 people–an oddly specific number–at a gay club. Police were able to apprehend the man before he could act upon his threat.

From WCMH-TV:

A man is in jail after police say he threatened to kill people at a gay club using a social dating app.

The threat had police on high alert near gay bars. NBC4 spoke to the man who received the threat and called police.

On June 16th, 2016, 49 people were murdered inside of the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. The LGBTQIA community immediately relived the fear from that day when police told them Me’shach Miller made a threat.

…

Court records show Miller said in part, he would kill 85 people at a gay club. In that threat was an explicit derogatory term used against homosexuals.

It was a message authorities said he sent to Montrese Hollar, who then contacted police. Police tracked Miller down through the app.

“His response back was completely off the wall. When he mentioned 85 in my community. I’ve been an activist in my community since I was a teenager, and I just couldn’t let that go by,” said Hollar.

What? A threat is made and the authorities acted swiftly and prevented a tragedy? Is that how that’s supposed to work?

Tell you what, let’s not ask Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel. I think we already know his answer.

Seriously, this is a good thing. This is another example of how the system that is currently in place works to prevent tragedies. While Miller’s threat of killing 85 people is odd and probably unlikely even had he been able to carry out his attack, there’s little doubt he could have killed a lot of people. By acting as they did, authorities in Columbus prevented a nightmare for many.

As much as the anti-gun zealots hate to hear it, the system works when it’s used correctly. Not only do we have this incident, but we also have the incident in Gardena, California from last week. These are two mass shootings you won’t hear a thing about, for the simple reason that people did what they were supposed to do when faced with a troubled, threatening individual.

They acted.

Yes, it’s amazing how well something like that can work, isn’t it?

What people need to understand is that threatening a mass shooting is a crime all on its own. It’s called making a terroristic threat. That alone can get someone locked up, so when someone like this or the shooter in Parkland threatens to kill, it’s grounds for taking action. But, again, this system only works when authorities actually act.

If they don’t, we get weeks and weeks of people trying to take away our constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms because they think guns are icky. They want to blame the gun rather than the person who perpetrated such a horrific act.

But, really, the problem is usually people ignoring the warning signs.