Riverside man charged in alleged pattern of ‘swatting’ calls, threatening in schools in IE and Sandy Hook, Nashville airport

Eduardo Vicente Pelayo Rodriguez, a 31-year-old resident of Riverside, has been arrested on an 18-count indictment alleging he placed "swatting calls" threatening to commit mass shootings at several schools in the Inland Empire and Sandy Hook, Connecticut, as well as threatening to bomb Nashville International Airport on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

"Swatting" refers to falsely reporting in the name of another person that an emergency is in progress or about to occur, with the intent to result in emergency services or law enforcement responding to that other person's location or investigating them.

According to court documents, in January and February of 2023, Rodriguez called a suicide prevention center & a veterans crisis hotline claiming to be the victim and saying that he was contemplating committing suicide or killing other. After Rodriguez utilized a Voice over Internal Protocol (VoIP) service to place more than a dozen calls impersonating the victim.

Rodriguez allegedly then called school staff at seven different schools in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, as well as Sandy Hook, Connecticut, threatening to commit either a mass shooting or bombing at the schools.

“Mr. Rodriguez is alleged to have conducted swatting attacks, to include the callous targeting of an open wound at Sandy Hook, without regard for the potential consequences of this insidious type of hoax,” said Krysti Hawkins, the Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. “Perpetrators of swatting hoaxes should understand that the FBI and our local partners take these threats seriously and that the penalties – if convicted – are considerable.”

Finally, Rodriguez allegedly called Nashville International Airport in Tennessee, insinuating that he had planted a bomb on a plane and in the airport, saying "this is for ISIS" and "one hour, boom." Law enforcement responded to these calls and determined all of them were fake.

“The sorts of ‘swatting’ crimes alleged against this defendant are highly troubling,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “The indictment alleges that the defendant placed calls to schools, airports, and other locations that were designed to cause maximum fear and trigger an emergency response. ‘Swatting’ is a serious crime that can cause great trauma and risk loss of life, so it is important that we hold wrongdoers accountable.”

Rodriguez was arrested on Tuesday. He is charged with one count of stalking, seven counts of transmitting threats in interstate commerce, seven counts engaging in hoaxes, and three counts of transmitting threats or false information regarding fire and explosives. His arraignment is scheduled for this afternoon in United States District Court in Riverside.

If convicted of said charges, Rodriguez would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison on the stalking count, five years on each of the threats counts, five years on each of the hoax counts, and ten years on each of the counts relating to fire and explosives.

The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating this matter, along with substantial assistance from the Riverside Police Department, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, the Newton (Connecticut) Police Department, and the Nashville Airport Authority.