After a student was arrested for calling in a bomb threat to a Harlem High School, the incident sparked a broader investigation.
Authorities eventually discovered a diary referring to a plan called “Operation Flash,” that involved one of the school’s teachers.
Harlem Prep High School
Christian and Tyler Toro, both 27, lived in the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx. One of the twin brothers, Christian Toro, was a teacher at Harlem Prep High School which is operated by the charter network Democracy Prep Public Schools.
Teacher
Toro had been teaching special education at the school since 2016. But on December 4, 2017, a bomb threat was called into the charter school, according to John J. Miller, the deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism. A 15-year-old student was arrested with calling in the threat, which led to an investigation into Christian Toro and his brother.
Investigative Process
The NYPD and the federal investigative process began with the school taking swift action, according to Mayor Bill De Blasio. “Staff at the school did something very important,” Mayor De Blasio said at a news conference. “Their work was crucial here.”
Laptop
Christian Toro resigned from the school on January 9, and three days later, his brother returned a laptop computer to the school that the school had given Christian. “After he resigned, Democracy Prep did a routine review of his laptop and was deeply disturbed by suspicious content,” said spokesman, Jeffrey W. Schneider.
Explosives
According to The New York Times, a technician at the charter school examined the laptop and found a copy of a book that contained instructions for making explosives on the hard drive. The school immediately alerted law enforcement officials.
Bomb Scare
On January 31, police arrested Christian and charged him with raping a minor. A law enforcement official said the alleged victim was a student at the school where he worked. “That was something that developed as a result of the investigation of the bomb scare to the school,” according to Miller.
Bail
After being released on bail, the FBI and police officers interviewed the Toro brothers in their Queens apartment. Christian told agents that he had come across the explosives book while doing research about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and that he hadn’t meant to download it onto his computer.
Interviews
He also said that he had never built a bomb. But six days after that interview, law enforcement agents interviewed students at the school, who told them that at least two students had visited the Toro’s apartment to break down fireworks.
Fireworks
They said that Toro paid the high school students $50 an hour to break apart the fireworks and extract the explosive powder, storing the powder in containers. A complaint said that the students appeared to have gone to the apartment between October and early January.
Search Warrant
The investigation led to law enforcement agents executing a search warrant at the brothers’ apartment, where they lived with a female relative. While searching the home, the agents found bomb-making materials in a closet, including a box containing about 20 pounds of iron oxide, five pounds of aluminum powder, and five pounds of potassium nitrate.
Materials
All of these materials can be used to build explosives. In the closet, there were also two pounds of confectioners sugar, which can be used as an explosive, and firecrackers and other explosive materials like a bag of metal balls.
Operation Flash
Millers said that investigators also found “simulated weapons” at the apartment. On a kitchen table, the agents found a diary, which contained Tyler Toro’s name in it, along with contact information. Handwriting in the diary read: “We are twin Toros strike us now, we will return with nano-thermite.”
Yellow Backpack
It also said, “If you’re registered as a sex offender, things will be difficult. But I am here 100%, living, buying weapons, whatever we need.” Then, in a bedroom the brothers share, agents found a yellow backpack belonging to Christian Toro.
Cryptic Note
Inside the backpack was an index card with writing that said, “Under the full moon the small ones will know terror.” In response to the writings, Miller said, “We don’t know at this point in the investigation, other than the criminal charges related to the explosives, the full breadth of what these materials mean.”
The Arrest
Raymond Del Villar, 20, who lives in an apartment across from the brothers, told The New York Times he was on his way to school when he saw up to 20 detectives in the hallway and his neighbors in handcuffs near the elevator. “They were bringing stuff out in bags,” he said. “I was surprised.”
Toro Brothers
Another neighbor said that the boys moved in with a relative a few months ago and that one of the brothers worked at a Shake Shack in Yonkers. The neighbor said the woman who lived with them was “a nice, courteous” woman.
Neighbors
Other neighbors described the twins as being well-educated, nicely dressed young men who kept to themselves. “They’re nice boys, pleasant, they held the elevator,” said Rochelle Shapiro, 63. “Why would someone want to do this?”
Work Of Staff
During the investigation, the work of staff at the school was critical. The school was following a protocol that its spokesperson called “essential,” according to Pix11. “‘When you see something, say something’ is what we actually did,” said Rochelle Ritchie, the director of external affairs for Democracy Prep Schools.
IT Team
She said that once the school’s IT team looked at what was on the laptop, they immediately informed the NYPD and then contacted the FBI. Parents are also praising the school saying, “I’m glad they did bring it to light.”
Saving Lives
“Because I have a son who goes to the school, and I need to make sure he’s safe, as a parent.” Mayor De Blasio said law enforcement officials “likely saved many, many lives” in making the arrests. He added that investigators believe “there is no additional, imminent threat directed at New York City at this time.” The Toro Brothers have both pleaded guilty to federal explosive charges. They face up to 10 years in prison and will be sentenced in March, 2018.
