Grimy Times

Brendan Vaughan, Threatening to Attack School, New York 2019

Published March 4, 2021

A 20-year-old man from Orange County, New York, was sentenced to 5 years in prison for threatening to attack a school in Washingtonville, New York.

Brendan Vaughan, 20, was sentenced to 60 months in prison on December 3, 2019, after pleading guilty to making threats to carry out a school shooting in Washingtonville, New York.

According to court records, Vaughan communicated his intentions to classmates via a social media chat group in May 2018, stating that he intended to carry out a school shooting on the final day of school.

Despite being visited by law enforcement, Vaughan continued to send threatening messages to a classmate, asking them not to report the threats to authorities. He also took steps to carry out the attack, including drafting a kill list and researching 'pipe bombs' on the internet.

On August 2018, Vaughan sent additional threatening messages on social media, including a graphic with a series of 15 gun and bomb emojis.

The defendant was charged with making threats to carry out a school shooting, a federal crime. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison and will serve his time in a federal correctional facility.

The case was investigated by the FBI, NYPD, and NYSP, who worked together to prevent a potential tragedy.

Brendan Vaughan is currently serving his 5-year sentence at a federal correctional facility.

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Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/orange-county-man-sentenced-5-years-prison-threatening-attack-school