ST PAUL, Minn. — A 20-year-old University of St. Thomas (UST) student has been charged with making bomb threats targeting the university's St. Paul campus.
Ray Ghansham Persaud was arrested Tuesday morning and made his initial court appearance at 2:00 p.m.
A criminal complaint details the charges against Persaud, detailing how investigators have tied him to a series of bomb threats phoned in on three separate days. Federal prosecutors say on April 17, 2019 Persaud called operators at the university's St. Paul campus and said there was a bomb, specifically mentioning McNeely Hall.
Persaud allegedly called the university three more times that morning, making the threats more specific each time. The threats led to the evacuation and closure of the entire St. Paul campus, including a child care center.
Investigators determined the calls came from a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) called TextMe, which is an application that allows a user to have multiple phone numbers.
Prosecutors say the second incident occurred on Aug. 20, when Persaud called the university again via TextMe and claimed there was a bomb in the John Roach Center, a classroom building on the St. Paul campus. The Roach Center was subsequently evacuated and closed for the day.
At that point investigators were able to determine that the person who made the call was on campus and using UST Wi Fi to phone in the threat. Among the phones connected to campus Wi Fi at the time of the bomb threat was one named "Rays Phone." A search of the class lists impacted at the time of the threat turned up 20 students who had class in the impacted buildings on both April 17 (when the first bomb threat was made) and August 20 (when the second threat was made). One of those 20 students was Ray Persaud.
Officials theorized Persaud made the threats to have his classes cancelled since he had class in at least one of the buildings when threats were made.
The third bomb threat detailed in the complaint occurred on Sept. 7. A trace of the number used in the threat indicates Persaud called the university again, but this time through a different app. He allegedly said there were bombs in the O'Shaughnessy Science Center, the John Roach Center, the Anderson Student Center and the Facilities Design Center, according to the complaint.
All four buildings were evacuated, and classes canceled for the morning.
Investigators were able to trace the origin on the Sept. 7 calls to Persaud's home address in Blaine.
UST President Julie Sullivan expressed relief that a suspect has been arrested in the series of threats against the university and that the disruptions should be over, but also expressed sadness that the threats appear to be the work of one of her students.
Today, an individual was arrested by federal law enforcement for making the three hoax bomb threats against the University of St. Thomas. The suspect, Ray Persaud, age 20, will now be subject to the criminal process in federal court. The press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office is available here.
I am very relieved that a suspect has been identified and arrested and that our community is not in danger from these hoax threats. The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the St. Paul Police Department. I am grateful to those officials and to the St. Thomas employees who supported the investigation.
I am extremely saddened to report that the suspect is a third-year undergraduate student at St. Thomas. He is a commuter student who resides in Blaine, Minnesota. He has been trespassed from our St. Paul and Minneapolis campuses, which means that he is prohibited by law from being on St. Thomas property. He has been suspended while we conduct our disciplinary process. If found responsible, he will face immediate expulsion from St. Thomas.
Our community is likely to have mixed emotions about today’s news. Counseling will be available to students, staff and faculty who are impacted by this arrest.
Our St. Thomas community has demonstrated great care for one another in response to these threats. I want to reiterate the importance of maintaining our resilience, solidarity and support for each other as we process this news.