NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A 16-year-old boy was charged Wednesday with making a terroristic threat and other crimes for allegedly orchestrating a phoned bomb threat to a Queens Catholic high school, which he was expelled from two months earlier, the Queens district attorney's office said.
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According to the criminal complaint, a phone call was placed on April 25 around 9:30 a.m. to the NYPD Highway Patrol Unit 3 by a man using the name "Jake."
The individual allegedly said that he was a ninth grader at St. Francis Preparatory High School and that he had placed four pipe bombs inside the school. He added that two of the bombs were placed inside a locker on the first floor of the school, one bomb inside a men's restroom, and one more inside a women's restroom.
Prosecutors said that following the call, around 2,000 students were evacuated from the school for an extended period of time while police searched the premises.
Investigators were directed to "Discord," an online social media site, as a result of an investigation conducted by the NYPD Intelligence Bureau in collaboration with the DA's Major Economics Crime Bureau.
The defendant, who has not been named due to his age, and a different "Discord" user who is known to law enforcement had a conversation about making a false threat to St. Francis Preparatory School in exchange for $80 as payment for the services, records obtained by the DA's office via a court-authorized warrant show.
The criminal complaint alleges the "Discord" user known to law enforcement asked the defendant if he would like a bomb squad called. The defendant responded in with: "Just a normal SWAT... as long as the school gets evacuated."
The known "Discord" user was later identified as a Polish national, and Polish law enforcement authorities were notified of this incident, prosecutors said. Law enforcement officials were able to trace cryptocurrency that was used as payment to the "Discord" user in Poland.
It was discovered through additional "Discord" records that the defendant had introduced himself to another "Discord" user.
Additionally, the username could be connected to an IP address belonging to the defendant's mother, who is listed as the account owner, and registered to an internet service provider at the defendant's home location.
Katz said St. Francis Preparatory High School records show that the defendant had been expelled from the school in February 2022 for disciplinary reasons.
As part of the investigation, investigators recovered two air pistols from the defendant's computer room. The defendant was arrested on Wednesday.
"As alleged, the defendant went to great lengths to orchestrate an elaborate and realistic threat against his former high school, placing thousands of students and their families in fear for their lives," Katz said. "This behavior will not stand, and the defendant has now been charged accordingly."
He was arraigned Wednesday night on a complaint charging him with making a terroristic threat, first-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree falsely reporting an incident, fifth-degree conspiracy, endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of possession of air pistols and making a threat of mass harm.
The teen is due back in court next Monday and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.
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