Police in Iowa say they have thwarted a mass shooting at the Iowa State University graduation ceremony this spring by arresting the man they say planned to carry it out.
Tanner Bandy, 28, was slapped with federal stalking charges on Wednesday following state charges of stalking and possession of a dangerous weapon after his arrest on April 17, KCCI reported.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa said that Bandy “engaged in a pattern of threatening conduct against a former romantic partner through text messages and voicemails” beginning in January.
“Two days prior to his arrest, on April 17, 2025, Bandy left a voicemail message discussing his intention to conduct a mass shooting at an Iowa State University commencement ceremony,” the federal office said. “On April 17, 2025, law enforcement searched Bandy’s residence and vehicle and located two firearms and ammunition. Bandy will remain detained in federal custody pending further proceedings.”
KCCI said the victim was a student at the university, and on April 16, she reported the threats and harassment to the school’s police department. He was arrested the following day at the Story County Sheriff’s Office, where he was trying to renew his gun permit. Story County prosecutors dismissed the state charges against him when the federal charges were filed.
According to the federal complaint, Bandy lost his job at a technology company earlier this month and “began exhibiting attack planning indicators” and “repeatedly stated that he planned to die ‘very soon.’” The documents say he planned to kill his stalking victim and take out “as many people as possible” before he is killed.
Bandy repeatedly told the victim he planned to hunt her down and kill her. In one voice message, he reportedly said, “It should really f****** scare you and it should really scare the entire commencement ceremony over here at Iowa State because I’m … and I’m f****** loving it.”
He said in another message that he was going to buy an AR-15 “and figure out how many people I can cut down at this f****** commencement ceremony.”
Bandy first went to Johnson County to try to renew his gun permit on April 16 but was directed to the Story County Sheriff’s Office because that’s where he lives. On the same day, the Iowa Deartment of Natural Resources told ISU police that someone at a shooting range in Iowa City was shooting at a photo of another person, and a witness description of that person fit Bandy. License plate readers also located his vehicle in Iowa City around that time.
Investigators found a Glock pistol and $2,000 when executing a search warrant on Bandy’s vehicle, and a 12-gauge shotgun and additional ammunition in his home.
They also found a print-out of the details of the university’s commencement ceremony taped to Bandy’s bathroom mirror with the date handwritten in large print.
Bandy will be back in court on May 1 for a detention hearing in federal court.
