23-year-old Gabriella Saldana
What started as a message in a student chat turned into a serious threat, police said, and eventually led to an arrest.A 23-year-old student at Florida International University (FIU) was detained after sending a message in a WhatsApp group that authorities said posed a threat of violence at a campus event.Gabriela Saldana was arrested last week and appeared in bond court where her bail was set at $5,000. She faces a felony charge of written threats to kill or cause bodily harm.According to police, the messages were posted in a group chat of about 215 students who were discussing an upcoming event at the university’s Ocean Bank Conference Center.Saldana wrote in a message: “[Israel’s Benjamin] Netanyahu, if you can hear me, please send some candy to our Capstone students at the Ocean Bank Conference Center. “Authorities said she then made a more direct statement: “There’s going to be a bomb at the Ocean Bank Convention Center and it’s going to be Jonathan’s fault.”Students in the group did not view the messages as humorous. Shortly after, Saldana responded in the chat: “I wrote a stupid joke that shouldn’t have been made.”She later admitted to sending the messages, police said.During a court hearing, Judge Mindy S. Glazer acknowledged Saldana’s claim it was a joke but said the legal standard depends on how people view the message.“I can understand your position when you say it’s a joke, but to an objective person it’s not a joke and that’s enough to have probable cause,” the judge said. They added: “I’m not saying that’s sufficient beyond a reasonable doubt. I don’t know if the state will be able to prove that at trial, but for the purposes of this hearing, I believe there’s sufficient cause.”The university released a statement confirming the arrest: “A Florida International University student was arrested for making credible and imminent threats of violence at a planned university event.” The statement added that the suspect had been identified on a specific date, time and location and confirmed that there was no ongoing threat to campus security.
