A threat against the BMW dealership in Pleasant Grove is showing that in light of recent events, people need to watch what they say.

When an employee told a 43-year-old Provo man that his car was no longer under warranty and his repairs were going to cost more than he expected, the already upset customer got more angry.

"He got even more agitated and explained to them that the person needed to tell his manager that they've got a customer that was ready to blow a gasket, and they were going to go 'Virginia Tech on BMW of Pleasant Grove,' " Pleasant Grove police Lt. Clark Nielsen said.

In light of the Monday shooting at the Virginia school, Nielsen said the threat was taken seriously.

The man was cited with making a terroristic threat, a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail.

Pleasant Grove City Prosecutor Christine Petersen said she has yet to receive the paperwork on the case, but she'd heard about it. She said she can remember two threat cases the city has prosecuted in the last year. She has never heard of someone using a current event to make a threat.

Nielsen said the incident was treated as if someone had said 'I'm going to come in and start killing people" or if he'd used a Trolley Square reference.

"I think it made his point," Nielsen said. "I think that's why he used the phrase and those words."

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A6.