A Peruvian national accused of making well over 150 bomb threats to schools and other institutions across the country, including in Connecticut, has been arrested.
The U.S. Department of Justice said they've arrested Eddie Manuel Nunez Santos, also known as Lucas, for making threats to more than 150 school districts, synagogues, airports, hospitals and a shopping mall between Sept. 15 and 21.
The threats spanned multiple states including Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Alaska, and resulted in massive disruptions to targeted communities. Thousands of students, flights delays and a hospital lockdown all happened as a result of these apparent threats, officials said.
Federal authorities said Nunez Santos allegedly tried to make a 15-year-old take and send him nude photos, and he sent the bomb threats in retaliation against the teen and other minors who refused.
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He was arrested on Tuesday in Lima, Peru, where he is from, based on a complaint filed with the Southern District of New York.
"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," said Assistant Director in Charges James Smith with the FBI New York Field Office.
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U.S. Attorney Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York said the threats caused "an immediate mobilization by federal and state authorities," and caused fear in hundreds of communities across the country.
The FBI began receiving reports of bomb threats, primarily sent through email or online contact forms. Through their investigation, the FBI was able to determine that Nunez Santos was responsible for sending the threats.
Authorities said the threats were all written similarly, and many of the threats included references to particular phone numbers or particular IP addresses, for teenage girls that had communicated with Nunez Santos online. He would allegedly ask girls to send nude photos and when they said no, he would threaten to bomb their schools or kill them, according to the DOJ.
He faces a slew of charges including transmitting threatening interstate communications, conveying false information and hoaxes, attempting to sexually exploit a child, attempting to coerce or entice a minor, attempting to receive child pornography, and more.
The DOJ said over 50 federal, state and local agencies helped with the investigation.
