ICE Wants Custody Of Man Who Threw Rock At School Bus, Injuring NJ Girl: Officials

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement will take custody of the man accused of throwing a rock at a school bus this month, fracturing a girl's skull, they said — noting that he's in the country illegally and has a 20-year criminal record in New Jersey.

On Monday, ICE filed an arrest detainer for Hernando Garcia-Morales, who is from Mexico, said the Department of Homeland Security.

Garcia-Morales was charged with aggravated assault after he allegedly threw a baseball-sized rock at a bus full of children at a Jewish day school on Jan. 7. The bus was struck near a New Jersey Turnpike exit to Teaneck, as it was returning from a third-grade trip to Liberty Science Center in Jersey City.

An 8-year-old girl suffered a skull fracture as a result of the attack and is recovering from surgery, local officials said.

Garcia-Morales, who was living in a section of Overpeck Park, has also been accused of throwing other rocks in the town of Bogota, officials said.

The Department of Homeland Security said on Monday that Garcia-Morales has an "extensive criminal history" in New Jersey, including arrests for burglary in 2023 and for possession of a weapon and theft in 2006.

They said they don't know when he had entered the country illegally.

“Violently targeting a school bus full of children is extremely wicked and heinous,” said Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Hernando Garcia-Morales should have never been in this country, let alone released after multiple arrests into New Jersey communities. ICE has lodged an arrest detainer against this monster, and we hope New Jersey’s sanctuary politicians will help us keep him off American streets for good."

They noted that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem relaunched the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE), created in 2017 by the Trump administration to help victims of crime related to immigration.

Department of Homeland Security statistics show that New Jersey is among the top 10 states with the highest population of illegal immigrants, with California, Texas, and Florida in the lead, and Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Georgia, Washington, and Arizona also in the top 10.

Charges

Garcia-Morales, 40, was charged on Jan. 9 with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal mischief, resisting arrest by flight, and hindering, New Jersey State Police said. He was taken to the Bergen County Jail.

He had been living at a "self-made campsite" in Old Croaker County Park in Bergen County, part of Overpeck County Park, state police said.

“Our hearts remain with the child and her family," said Teaneck Township Manager Jaclyn Hashmat earlier this month, "and we're grateful she's recovering."

Anyone with more information about the incident can call the state police at 732-441-4500, ext. 1401.

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