Chatham County Man Indicted for Bomb Hoaxes Targeting Mosque and Office Park

Savannah, GA – Mohammed Arafat Afaneh, a 27-year-old Chatham County man, has been indicted by a U.S. District Court Grand Jury on two counts of False Information and Hoaxes. The charges stem from bomb threats targeting a Savannah mosque and an office park.

Afaneh was located and arrested on state charges in Louisville, Kentucky. Following an initial appearance hearing in federal court in the Western District of Kentucky, he was remanded to the custody of U.S. Marshals. The indictment alleges that on Nov. 17, Afaneh conveyed false information about a bomb threat at an office park on Chatham Parkway in Savannah, near the federal court building. Additionally, he claimed that a bomb would detonate seven minutes before Maghrib, or afternoon prayers, inside the Islamic Center of Savannah.

Responding law enforcement agencies investigated both warnings and determined them to be hoaxes. Afaneh is currently facing federal charges related to the false bomb threats.

Indictments contain only charges, and Afaneh is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. The case is being investigated by the FBI and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Darron J. Hubbard.

Contact
Barry L. Paschal, Public Affairs Officer: 912-652-4422.