MIAMI – An 18-year-old Florida International University honors student is facing serious charges after federal authorities said he made written threats on social media, including plans to bomb a house.
Ronaldo Hernandez-Padron, a graduate of South Miami High School, was arrested last week after the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center (NTOC) received a tip on January 4 about concerning posts from an Instagram account with the handle “JurassicParkLover2006.”
According to investigators, the posts included statements such as “Bad things are going to happen” and “Bombing a house today.”
Instagram flagged the posts and provided information linking the account to Hernandez-Padron, including his residential address and date of birth.
On Thursday, FBI agents and Miami-Dade Police Detective J. Fernandez located Hernandez-Padron at his home, where he was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
In court, Hernandez-Padron’s attorney argued that the posts, made on a private Instagram story, were intended as a joke and not meant to be taken seriously.
Hernandez-Padron had this to say upon his release from jail on Monday evening, “It was a joke, it was supposed to be a joke, but it got taken to something literal,” he told CBS News Miami.
Hernandez-Padron expressed remorse for his actions, “I think the best thing you can do is learn from it and just not repeat it and not let it happen again.”
FIU students had mixed reactions on the arrest.
“There’s so many cases of school shooters doing the same thing, so he brought it on himself,” said Zairion Palmer. “He’s an adult, he knew better.”
Another student, Breno Albas, said, “The internet is a very open door to a person’s thoughts and if their thoughts are about blowing up a house or doing dangerous stuff, it should be taken into account.”
Hernandez-Padron was charged with making written threats to commit a mass shooting or terrorism, a serious offense under Florida law.
Despite his claims of humor, authorities are treating the case with utmost gravity.
As of Monday, Hernandez-Padron remains under investigation.
