FBI: Former Student Plotted ISIS Bombing of 2 Florida College Deans

Miami Dade College and Broward College had previously expelled the bombing attack suspect for alleged sexual harassment.

FBI: Former Student Plotted ISIS Bombing of 2 Florida College Deans

A Florida man has been arrested for plotting to bomb the deans of two colleges that expelled him.

Authorities say Salman Rashid, 23, attempted to recruit ISIS terrorists to carry out the bombings, reports the Daily Beast. The targets of the alleged plot have not been identified, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office said they worked at Miami Dade College and Broward College.

Both institutions of higher education had previously expelled him. He was kicked out by Miami Dade College for harassing and stalking a female classmate in November 2018. He was then expelled from Broward College for not disclosing the previous harassment allegations against him.

Rashid was charged on Monday with soliciting another person to commit a violent crime, reports the Miami Herald. If convicted, he could serve 20 years in prison.

The FBI said it started investigating the suspect in April 2018 after he made several public Facebook comments about overthrowing democracy and establishing Islamic law, reports the Miami Herald. He also made violent posts on the social media site about women, which the female student who claims Rashid harassed her said made her feel unsafe.

The FBI was able to get two undercover FBI sources to start chatting with Rashid, and he eventually asked one of them to look into ISIS members who would be willing to carry out the bombing.

Rashid also provided the FBI sources with the deans’ names, as well as the specific location of the Miami Dade College dean, reports the Daily Beast.

If you appreciated this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our FREE digital newsletters!

About the Author

robin hattersley headshot
Contact:

Robin has been covering the security and campus law enforcement industries since 1998 and is a specialist in school, university and hospital security, public safety and emergency management, as well as emerging technologies and systems integration. She joined CS in 2005 and has authored award-winning editorial on campus law enforcement and security funding, officer recruitment and retention, access control, IP video, network integration, event management, crime trends, the Clery Act, Title IX compliance, sexual assault, dating abuse, emergency communications, incident management software and more. Robin has been featured on national and local media outlets and was formerly associate editor for the trade publication Security Sales & Integration. She obtained her undergraduate degree in history from California State University, Long Beach.

Leading in Turbulent Times: Effective Campus Public Safety Leadership for the 21st Century

This new webcast will discuss how campus public safety leaders can effectively incorporate Clery Act, Title IX, customer service, “helicopter” parents, emergency notification, town-gown relationships, brand management, Greek Life, student recruitment, faculty, and more into their roles and develop the necessary skills to successfully lead their departments. Register today to attend this free webcast!

2 responses to “FBI: Former Student Plotted ISIS Bombing of 2 Florida College Deans”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get Our Newsletters
Campus Safety Conference promo