KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City, Missouri, man has been charged after reportedly making threats of murder toward children at the Worlds of Fun amusement park and three individuals, and threatening to blow up Worlds of Fun and a nearby hotel on Sunday.
Jonathan Gregory Smith, 58, faces terrorist threat felony charges in the first degree.
Smith could receive a fine of up to $10,000 and could spend up to seven years in prison.
According to a probable cause statement from Det. Kelsie McLees, the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department responded to the Hometowne Studios Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, to a reported threat made over the phone.
A staff member said they received a phone call from Smith, who said he would kill kids at Worlds of Fun, blow up Worlds of Fun, blow up the Hometowne Studios Hotel, kill hotel staff and make police kill him, court documents say. Two other individuals also told police they received threatening phone calls from Smith, who told one victim to prepare to die when he arrives at their location.
The probable cause statement states that police made contact with Smith at Loves Travel Stop in Kansas City, Missouri, and that Smith had called the North Kansas City Police Department threatening to "go out on his own terms" in a "Texas-style shooting."
The Worlds of Fun director of public safety informed police that Smith was banned from Worlds of Fun, and requested for extra security at all entries to the park, the documents say.
The Clay County Sheriff's Department informed police that he learned from a confidential informant that Smith had attempted to purchase a weapon from them.
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