An Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University student from South Florida was arrested after plotting a campus shooting, police said.
John Hagins, 19, was arrested Thursday and faces numerous charges in connection with the plot, Daytona Beach Police officials said.
Police said Hagins laid out his plans for the shooting on social media, intending to bring a folding gun inside a backpack along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition to shoot up the campus on the final day before winter break.
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Fellow students tipped off authorities, who took Hagins into custody at his apartment, police said. In the apartment were the gun, ammunition and backpack, and it appeared Hagins sold his car to buy the weapon and ammo, police said.
"We could have had a tragedy unfold today," Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young said in a statement. "Instead, these students reported it to the school and that allowed us to get to work right away and bring Hagins into custody before he could carry out his plans. We thank them all for seeing something and saying something."
Detectives are still trying to piece together the exact motive, but police said they learned that Hagins was in danger of failing classes and was also cited for a traffic infraction while on campus Wednesday.
Police said Hagins, who is from North Miami Beach, will be charged with attempted first-degree homicide, written threats to kill or injure, and terrorism. He was in the process of being booked into jail, and attorney information wasn't available.
