Suspect in alleged bomb prank at University of Washington may have law on his side
Jun 4, 2018, 7:08 AM | Updated: 10:24 am
A group of students and staff gather outside after an alleged bomb prank by a man who goes by "Arab Andy." (KIRO 7)
(KIRO 7)
The man who police believe is behind a bomb prank that sent University of Washington students fleeing may not face federal charges because of how he carried it out.
On the evening of May 31, “Arab Andy” allegedly walked into a UW classroom where, moments later, sound effects of a bomb being activated were heard. Savery Hall was evacuated and the Quad was briefly locked down as police investigated.
The livestreamer was later arrested after recording more than an hour of live footage.
Though the original video was removed for violating YouTube’s policy on harassment and bullying, a clip of the incident that caused the lockdown can be found here.
Former state Attorney General Rob McKenna says the suspect will argue he was pulling a prank. The fact that it was live streamed on YouTube and treated like reality TV could further back that up. Based on a previous ruling from the state Supreme Court, “Arab Andy” couldn’t be prosecuted for making a bomb threat, a felony, McKenna says.
The victims of the prank obviously didn’t think it was a joke.
“It’s a tough case,” McKenna says. “This is going to be one to watch. Here’s a key fact, the individuals in that room did not think it was a joke. They were terrified. They fled. It’s lucky no one was injured in the process.”
The court will look at the event and determine if it appeared to be an actual threat at the time and how far the suspect went to make it look real, McKenna says.
The suspect faces up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, KIRO 7 reports.
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