A man showed up to a Lana Del Rey concert in Orlando, Florida with a knife and a plan to abduct the singer. Photo / Getty
A man showed up to a Lana Del Rey concert in Orlando, Florida with a knife and a plan to abduct the singer. Photo / Getty
A fan showed up Friday evening outside Lana Del Rey's pop concert in Orlando, Florida, with a ticket, a knife and a plan to abduct her, police said.
Michael Hunt, 43, was arrested about a block from Amway Center and charged with stalking and attempted armed kidnapping. Police said he'dbeen unable to reach the singer.
Earlier Friday, a tipster called police to report alarming posts about Del Rey on Hunt's social media account, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Police have not provided details about the tip, but local news outlets found a Facebook page that appeared to belong to Hunt, plastered with photos of the singer and filled with bizarre messages to her.
For example, Orlando News 6 reported, Hunt shared a clip from Del Rey's 2012 music video, in which she sings sadly of an ex-lover: "I love him, I love him, I love him ... I still love him."
"I love you too," Hunt replied above the video, according to the news station. "I'm so sorry I did this to us."
That was written at 2 a.m. Thursday, a day before Del Rey was scheduled to perform songs from her Grammy-nominated album Lust for Life at the Amway Center, less than a two-hour drive from Hunt's home outside Tampa.
On the morning of the concert, News 6 reported, Hunt wrote: "It's probably my last day on Facebook ... I'll see you on the other side."
The Sentinel obtained a video posted to the same page in which Hunt talked about his plans. "I'm going to probably finish out her tour with her, obviously," he reportedly told his friends. "Lana knows I'm here. The queen of England knows I'm here. Vladimir knows I'm here. They all know I'm here."
Hunt has been imprisoned five times, the Sentinel wrote, for crimes ranging from from marijuana possession to grand theft with a firearm. His last sentence ended in 2014, after he served nine months for fleeing police near Tampa.
About 8,000 fans were expected at the concert in Orlando, police told the Sentinel. After seeing what he'd written on social media, officers searched throughout Friday and finally found Hunt a block from the Amway Center about 9 p.m., an hour after the show started.
"If it weren't for that tip, authorities might have been unaware of the threat Hunt posed," police wrote in a short statement after taking him to a county jail to await a court appearance. It's unclear whether Hunt has a lawyer.
ARRESTED: Michael Hunt, for aggravated stalking & attempted kidnapping w/a weapon.
After receiving a tip we deemed a credible threat, OPD got to him before he could get near singer Lana Del Rey last night at her show at Amway Center. pic.twitter.com/twVrOSxNqF
Del Rey's representatives couldn't be immediately reached, but her show went on as planned Friday. She gave no indication she knew anything about Hunt's plans and has since performed in two other cities, before her tour takes her across the United States and overseas.
"Thanks for an amazing show tonight! Orlando wants you back here soon," the Amway Center's Twitter account wrote to her after the Orlando show.
