by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:50 AM ET, Thu August 15, 2019
A teenager in Texas has been charged with making a terroristic threat after allegedly mentioning blowing up a plane on Snapchat.
According to KTRK, 17-year-old Hector Fernando Fonseca from Texas was scheduled to fly from Houston to Guatemala on August 2 when he reportedly posted messages saying "blown this s--- up" and "time to blow up the plane" along with a photo of George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Officials at Snapchat discovered the comments and reported them to the FBI National Threat Operations Center. Officers used GPS coordinates to find Fonseca's location and interviewed one of his friends who knew of the posts.
When Fonseca returned from Guatemala on August 10, police met him at his house and arrested him under charges of third-degree felony of making a terroristic threat. The teenager appeared in court Tuesday and is being held on $10,000 bond. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
During the court appearance, Harris County magistrate Lisa Porter questioned why police didn't search his home for bomb-making materials and if this was simply a teenager "popping off" on social media.
"What everyone needs to know is that we take threats of mass violence seriously -- especially when they involve airports, schools and other public, weapon-free places," Harris County District Attorney Dane Schiller said in a statement. "Houston Police filed charges with prosecutors after receiving information from FBI and Customs and Border Protection agents, who investigated a tip regarding a planned act of violence directed toward Bush Intercontinental Airport."
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
