Patrick Dai, Cornell student accused of threatening Jewish peers
The Cornell University student accused of threatening violence against his Jewish peers was a 21-year-old engineering student who suffered from “severe depression” that his mother feared he was about to commit suicide.
before being arrested.
Patrick Dai, a student at the prestigious university, was arrested by federal authorities on Tuesday for allegedly posting a series of disturbing online messages over the weekend, threatening to kill and rape students Do Thai and “bringing an assault rifle onto campus.
” Investigators traced the tampered messages to Dai’s IP address at his off-campus apartment, where he allegedly admitted he was the perpetrator, according to the complaint federal law obtained by NBC News.
However, Dai’s parents believed that their son was innocent.
Dai sank into depression in 2021, a year after starting to study engineering at the prestigious university, his parents said.
He entered the school as one of five National Merit Scholars at Pittsford-Mendon High School and is a 12-time AP Scholar and has also spent time volunteering at the Hospital Rochester General Institute.