Ex-camp counselor arrested after allegedly threatening violent revenge on Christian camp over firing

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A former camp counselor was arrested last weekend after allegedly threatening to “create the next Columbine shooting” if children at the Texas summer camp were to “piss him off.”

Authorities arrested 23-year-old Mario Bernal, of Vernal, Utah, on Sunday over “terroristic threats” made to Christian Camp Cho-Yeh in Livingston, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post on Tuesday. 

Bernal, who was reportedly facing termination over cruel behavior and mistreatment of children, allegedly repeated his threat to recreate the 1999 Columbine High School incident – which left 12 students and one teacher dead – if the camp fired him, according to Fox 26 Houston, citing an arrest warrant affidavit.

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Police escort ex-camp counselor Mario Bernal in handcuffs after receiving reports that he threatened to recreate a 1999 mass shooting at a Christian summer camp in Texas. (Livingston Police Department)

The former camp counselor reportedly said he would “clock himself out” if terminated, and “not go down by himself” if the camp “came at him legally,” the outlet added.

The camp fired Bernal after at least one camp worker said they saw him locking up a group of children in a hot room and refusing to let them leave as a form of “discipline,” the local TV station reported.

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Mario Bernal, 23, of Vernal, Utah, was arrested on Sunday outside Christian Camp Cho-Yeh in Livingston, Texas. (Polk County Sheriff’s Office TX, Sheriff Byron Lyons)

Police received reports of the threats and nabbed Bernal near the camp entrance after spotting him in a vehicle, the Livingston Police Department said on Sunday.

“Threats to this community, especially involving our children, will always be taken seriously,” Livingston police Chief Matt Parrish said in a statement. “I commend the quick and thorough investigation by the Sheriff’s Office, as well as the response by our officers.”

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Police nabbed Mario Bernal outside the camp entrance on Sunday in Livingston, Texas, after receiving reports that the 23-year-old made threats to the Christian camp. (Livingston Police Department)

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Polk County Jail online records show Bernal remains in custody and is being held on a $250,000 surety bond.