A Tucson man is in federal custody after he allegedly threatened to shoot up two Arizona hospitals, plant pipe bombs on school buses in Indiana, and kill police.
The joint investigation involving Pima County law enforcement and federal agents led to the Oct. 25 arrest of Amir Safavi Farokhi, 28, on charges of making terror threats.
Mr. Farokhi remains in federal custody as the investigation continues, according to a spokesman with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona, which is handling the prosecution.
The spokesman told The Epoch Times that investigators “don’t know [what] specifically” motivated Mr. Farokhi to make these alleged terror threats.
The hospital initiated security lockdown procedures as a precaution.
“Deputies from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department Foothills District responded to the hospital and ensured the building and surrounding areas were safe.“Once the scene was determined to be safe, deputies began their investigation,” according to a Pima County Sheriff’s Department (PCSD) statement.
Mr. Farokhi allegedly made similar threats against staff at the Tucson ER Hospital in Tucson on Oct. 21.
Federal authorities also charged him with “making an interstate threat to rape and murder a female employee of the Bloomington, Indiana Police Department,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Arizona said in a press release.
“The complaint alleges that Farokhi used his telephone in Arizona to call the Indianapolis Police Department and told police officers they should send officers to a specific location in the Castleton area of Indianapolis because Farokhi planned to place pipe bombs on school buses and shoot any responding police officers.
“Farokhi also used his telephone in Arizona to transmit a threat to rape and murder an employee of the Bloomington, Indiana Police Department, telling the victim he would wait outside for her at the end of her shift.”
On Oct. 25, the Pima Regional SWAT team, working with the FBI’s Southern Arizona Violent Crimes and Gang Task Force, served a federal search warrant in West Huxley Place in Tucson, where they arrested Mr. Farokhi without incident.
Domestic Terrorism Alert
According to the Department of Homeland Security’s National Terrorism Advisory System, the United States remains in a “heightened threat environment,” citing threats from primarily domestic actors.“Lone offenders and small groups motivated by a range of ideological beliefs and personal grievances continue to pose a persistent and lethal threat to the homeland.
“In the coming months, factors that could mobilize individuals to commit violence include their perceptions that the 2024 general election cycle and legislative and judicial decisions [about] sociopolitical issues.
“Likely targets of potential violence include U.S. critical infrastructure, faith-based institutions, individuals or events associated with the LGBT community, schools, racial and ethnic minorities, and government facilities and personnel, including law enforcement.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said it will have up to 30 days from Mr. Farokhi’s arrest to seek an indictment against him.
