Peruvian man arrested for making more than 150 bomb threats to US schools
A Peruvian man was arrested in Peru for sending more than 150 fake bomb threats to US schools, airports and a synagogue.
Eddie Manuel Núñez Santos, 33, was arrested by Peruvian officials on Tuesday in Lima,according to a press release from the justice department.
According to a complaint that was unsealed on Thursday in New York, Santos was charged with several federal crimes, including sending interstate communications threats as well as false information and hoaxes.
Santos was also charged with attempting to receive and manufacture child abuse images.
Authorities say that Santos sent several threats between 15 September and 21 September to locations in several states, including New York, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Connecticut.
“I placed multiple bombs in all of the schools from your School Districts. The bombs will blow up in a few hours. I’ll gladly smile when your families are crying because of your deaths,” read one threat sent by Santos to a Pennsylvania school district.
In Pennsylvania alone, at least 1,100 schoolchildren in 20 school districts were evacuated due to false threats allegedly sent from Santos.
Santos also targeted the schools of minors from whom he attempted to obtain sexually explicit images.
Using the alias “Lucas”, Santos presented himself as a 15-year-old male and repeatedly asked minors for nude images.
When said minors refused to send images or cut off contact with Santos, he later sent bomb threats to their schools.
“Not only did Santos allegedly email hundreds of hoax bomb threats terrorizing schools, hospitals, and houses of worship, he also perversely tried to sextort innocent teenage girls. His actions wasted limited law enforcement resources, put first responders in unnecessary danger, and victimized children,” the FBI assistant director in charge, James Smith, said in a press release.
If found guilty, Santos faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, according to the press release.
A court appearance date for Santos will be set at a future date, said a justice department representative to the Guardian.