Orlando and UCF Police have successfully removed a UCF student’s access to guns after investigators say the student threatened to act out school shootings at two different Central Florida schools.

Police say this is the first time they’ve been able to use the new gun violence protections signed into law in March.

Chris Velasquez is not facing any criminal charges, but police felt like he was enough of a threat to people to keep guns away from him, and for that reason Spectrum News 13 is using his name.

UCF police say back in early February they got complaints that someone posted shooting threats on social media and referred to Las Vegas mass shooter Stephen Paddock saying “R.I.P. my hero.”

After the Parkland shooting in South Florida, they say the UCF student praised the shooter in another social media post saying “Cruz is a hero.”

“We were that concerned about the threat, and so was the City of Orlando,” said UCF Police Chief Richard Beary.

A petition for a risk protection order filed in circuit court shows that when UCF Police brought the 21-year-old student in for questioning, he told them if he was going to commit a mass shooting, he would do it at his former schools – Odyssey Middle School and Lake Nona High School.

Velasquez lives in Orlando with his parents.  Orlando Police say under the new gun violence protection laws, they were able to get a judge to grant a risk protection order – which required Velasquez’s father to surrender a gun to authorities.

“We were concerned, especially in this case, this person would follow through with their threat and here we knew about this threat and knew the person had access to firearms,” said Orlando Police Chief John Mina.

Chief Mina says it’s the first time his department has asked for such a restraining order since the new gun violence protection laws were passed.

But Velasquez’s attorney says police abused their power.

“He understands what he said was wrong, but if we’re talking about constitutional rights, it was constitutionally protected speech,” said Attorney Kendra Parris, Parris Law.

Parris says Velasquez admits his comments online were wrong, but she says the restraining order was not necessary.

“If he had in fact met the criteria and the doctor had determined he was a danger to himself and to others, he would’ve been automatically prohibited from owning or purchasing a firearm,” said Parris.

UCF’s police chief says the new laws allowed law enforcement to protect the public.

“That new law is going to help law enforcement immensely,” said Chief Beary. “I think it’s a starting point.  There needs to be a few things added to it, but right now we’re proof that it works.”

The UCF student has a March 29 court hearing where a judge will decide whether to make the restraining order permanent, which would restrict Velasquez from having access to guns for an entire year.

Under our crime guidelines, normally Spectrum News 13 doesn’t name a person if they’re not charged with a crime. But due to the real safety concern from both UCF and Orlando Police, we chose to share that information.