Indiana Man Sentenced to 11 Months for Bomb and Tucson Hospital Threats

Amir Farokhi sentenced to 11 months for threats to bomb Indiana school buses and shoot Tucson hospital staff.Photo byDavid BirozyonUnsplash

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona announced today that Amir Safavi Farokhi, 29, of Fishers, Indiana, has been sentenced to more than 11 months in federal custody for threatening to place pipe bombs on school buses in Castleton, Indiana.

According to the DOJ, from October 21 to October 24, 2023, while staying in Tucson, Farokhi made multiple threatening phone calls to various institutions in both Arizona and Indiana, including hospitals, police departments, schools, and businesses.

On October 24, 2023, according to the DOJ, Farokhi called the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, claiming he had planted pipe bombs on three school buses in Castleton and would shoot any officers who responded.

Farokhi was arrested the next day, October 25, by the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department after authorities tracked him down through search warrants. He remained in federal custody throughout the case.

In addition to the school bus threats, Farokhi made several disturbing calls to the Bloomington Police Department on October 21, 2023, threatening to harm and rape employees and their children, as well as stating he was watching them through a window, according to the DOJ.

His threats were not limited to Indiana. Farokhi also called Tucson hospitals, including Tucson ER Hospital and Northwest Hospital, threatening to shoot staff and patients if his demands for medication were not met, according to the DOJ.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Southern Arizona Violent Crime and Gang Task Force and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona handled the prosecution.

Upon release from federal custody, Farokhi will be placed on supervised release for three years and required to participate in mental health treatment, ccording to the DOJ.