FIU Student Arrested for Alleged Bomb Threats in Chat

A 23-year-old student at Florida International University was arrested this week after sending messages in a large WhatsApp group chat that authorities interpreted as bomb threats targeting a scheduled campus event, prompting a swift police investigation and felony charges.

Gabriela Saldana faces a second-degree felony count of making written threats to kill or do bodily harm under Florida law, which carries a potential penalty of up to 15 years in prison. The incident unfolded in a 215-member group chat among capstone students discussing an event set for Friday at the university's Ocean Bank Convocation Center in Miami. According to the arrest report, Saldana sent the messages on Wednesday, referencing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in one post: "Netanyahu, if you can hear me, drop some bonbons for us Capstone students in Ocean Bank Convocation Center." Investigators viewed "bonbons" as a coded reference to bombs. She followed with another message stating, "There is going to be a bomb in the Ocean Bank Convocation Center and it was going to be Jonathan's fault," naming another student in the chat.

Several students reported the messages to campus police, who treated...