A disturbing picture continues to emerge in the case of a man arrested in connection to three shootings that targeted a Democratic Party office in Tempe, Arizona.

Authorities have revealed that Jeffrey Michael Kelly, since arrested for the incidents, had at least 120 guns and massive amounts of ammunition in his home, a scenario suggestive of a planned mass casualty event, as the Associated Press reports.

Startling discoveries revealed

Details of the shocking situation emerged on Wednesday during Kelly's first appearance in court.

That is when Maricopa County prosecutor Neha Bhatia indicated that she was told by federal agents about the startling scope of the seizures executed at Kelly's residence after his arrest.

In addition to them large volume of weaponry and ammunition, agents discovered body armor, scopes, silencers, and other incriminating paraphernalia at the home.

As Bhatia noted, it was the very size of the stockpile held by Kelly that caused a belief among law enforcement authorities that the suspect was planning to cause a mass casualty event.

Trio of shootings prompts arrest

As Newsweek reported, Kelly, 60, was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of having committed the three aforementioned shootings into the Democratic Party campaign office in Tempe.

The political campaign office in question was hit by gunfire on three separate occasions, namely, Sept. 16, Sept. 23, and Oct. 3, with the initial attack involving BB gun pellets and the subsequent attacks involving live ammunition.

All of the shootings of which Kelly is now accused occurred between the hours of 12 a.m. and 1 a.m., with surveillance footage ultimately yielding a clue about the attacker's vehicle.

Police soon indicated that they were on the hunt for a Toyota Highlander, the description of which ultimately matched that of a car inside Kelly's garage.

Legal process begins

Since his arrest, Kelly has been charged with three counts – felonies all – of terrorism, in addition to two counts of discharging a firearm within city limits. He also faces a pair of counts related to discharging a gun at a nonresidence and three counts of criminal damage.

Reports indicate that Kelly is a retired engineer with no past criminal record, and his bond was subsequently set at $500,000, accompanied by a condition of house arrest and electronic monitoring should he come up with that sum and secure release.

Jason Squires, Kelly's lawyer, asserted in court that there are “holes” in the state's case against his client, but precisely what those might be is something that remains to be seen as the case makes its way through court.

Wherever the legal process goes from here, law enforcement authorities clearly believe that a potentially devastating mass casualty event was prevented, and that is something for which the Tempe community is assuredly grateful.