Man Threatened Mass Shooting At Sandy Hook School: Feds

NEWTOWN, CT — A California man has been arrested on an 18-count indictment alleging he placed "swatting calls" threatening to commit mass shootings at several schools, including in Sandy Hook.

Eduardo Vicente Pelayo Rodriguez, 31, of Riverside, CA, is charged with one count of stalking, seven counts of transmitting threats in interstate commerce, seven counts engaging in hoaxes, and three counts of transmitting threats or false information regarding fire and explosives. He was arrested Tuesday, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.

In addition to the Sandy Hook threats, federal law enforcement agents have accused Rodriguez of threatening a mass shooting at schools in the Inland Empire neighborhood of California, which centers around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside. He has also been accused of threatening to bomb Nashville International Airport on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), according to a statement from the Justice Department announced released Wednesday. Rodriguez's arraignment was scheduled for Wednesday in United States District Court in Riverside.

"Swatting" refers to falsely reporting in the name of another person that an emergency is in progress or about to occur, with the intent to result in emergency services or law enforcement responding to that other person’s location or investigating them.

According to the indictment that a federal grand jury returned on May 16, Rodriguez in January and February of 2023 used a voice over internet protocol service to place more than a dozen calls impersonating the victim. Initially, Rodriguez called a suicide prevention center and a veterans crisis hotline, claimed to be the victim, and said that he was contemplating committing suicide or killing others.

Rodriguez allegedly then called school staff at seven different schools — in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, as well as Sandy Hook – and threatened to commit either a mass shooting or bombing at the schools. Finally, Rodriguez allegedly called Nashville International Airport in Tennessee, said he had planted a bomb on a plane and in the airport, and said, “this is for ISIS,” and “one hour, boom.”

Law enforcement responded to these phone calls and determined they were fake.

"Mr. Rodriguez is alleged to have conducted swatting attacks, to include the callous targeting of an open wound at Sandy Hook, without regard for the potential consequences of this insidious type of hoax," said Krysti Hawkins, the acting assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. "Perpetrators of swatting hoaxes should understand that the FBI and our local partners take these threats seriously and that the penalties – if convicted – are considerable."

If convicted of the charges, Rodriguez would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison on the stalking count, five years on each of the threats counts, five years on each of the hoax counts, and 10 years on each of the counts relating to fire and explosives.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.