Iowa residents Kevin Norton, 18, and James Stumbo, 27, were arrested on suspicion of firearms-related charges by Boston police.

Boston Police Department

Two men were arrested Friday and charged with weapons offenses after police said threats were made over social media against people attending the Pokémon World Championships in Boston. Private security from the Hynes Convention Center first alerted authorities on Thursday about threats of violence on social media toward attendees of the championship, according to a statement by the Boston Police Department. Police, private security, and members of the Boston Regional Intelligence Center began to investigate, and after a few hours two men were stopped trying to enter the convention center.

According to police, the men had driven from Iowa and had several guns in their vehicle without a license to carry. Police later obtained a search warrant, and found a 12-gauge Remington shotgun, a DPM5 model AR-15 rifle, several hundred rounds of ammunition, and a hunting knife. Kevin Norton, 18, and James Stumbo, 27, were arrested on suspicion of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and other firearms-related charges, police said. They were scheduled to be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court.

Facebook James Stumbo Facebook Kevin Norton

On Facebook, Norton's profile picture showed him firing a handgun. Stumbo had uploaded a number of pictures showing he had attended previous Pokémon championships. In a Facebook group entitled "Mayhem Pokémon Crew," Stumbo uploaded a picture on Wednesday showing two weapons on the back of a car with the caption, "Kevin Norton and I are ready for worlds Boston here we come!!!" "Good luck," one friend replied. "With killing the competition?" Norton replied.

Facebook