He is said to have sent more than 150 bomb threats to the US after underage girls refused to send him explicit photos.
Eddie Manuel Nunez Santos, 33, was arrested on September 26 in Lima, Peru. Between September 15 and 21, the man of Peruvian origin is said to have sent false bomb threats to schools, synagogues, airports and hospitals, causing thousands of students to be evacuated, hospitals to be sealed off and numerous flights delayed. The targeted facilities would be located in five states: New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Arizona and Alaska.
“As alleged, the defendant’s tireless campaign of false bomb threats resulted in an immediate mobilization of federal and state authorities, diverted critical law enforcement and public safety resources, and sowed fear in hundreds of communities across the country,” the Southern said District of New York Attorney Damian Williams.
According to police investigations, Eddie Manuel Nunez Santos allegedly issued these warnings in retaliation after teenage girls refused to send him nude photos. The man then posed as a 15-year-old boy named “Lucas.”
“Not only did Santos allegedly send hundreds of false bomb threats via email that terrorized schools, hospitals and houses of worship, but he also perversely attempted to blackmail innocent teenage girls. “His actions wasted limited law enforcement resources, placed first responders in unnecessary danger, and victimized children,” said James Smith, Assistant Director of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).