St. Thomas bomb threat suspect arrested

The U.S. Attorney’s office ordered an arrest and charge for Ray Ghansham Persaud for hoax bomb threats over the last six months Tuesday. (Owen Landrud/TommieMedia file photo)

EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this story contained an incorrect photo.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday an arrest and charge against St. Thomas student Ray Ghansham Persaud, 20, for hoax bomb threats against the university over the last six months, including the Sept. 17 incident.

Persaud was arrested Tuesday morning and was scheduled to appear in federal court in the afternoon. He faces one count of using an instrumentality of interstate commerce to make a threat to kill, injure, or intimidate any individual, and to damage or destroy any building, by means of fire and explosive.

“I am very relieved that a suspect has been identified and arrested and that our community is not in danger from these hoax threats,” President Julie Sullivan wrote to the campus community in an email.

Sullivan said Persaud is a third-year undergraduate student who commutes from Blaine. She said he has been suspended.

The criminal complaint said the FBI determined that Persaud called from multiple Voice Over Internet Protocol telephone numbers serviced by apps. Such apps allow for use of multiple telephone numbers.

The complaint alleges that Persaud called threats to the university on April 17 and Aug. 20 as well as Sept. 17.