Oregon man threatens Long Island, Queens Jewish community

Domagoj Patkovic from Portland, Oregon was charged with swatting and bomb threat schemes after targeting Jewish hospitals in Queens and Long Island.

Swatting is making a prank call to emergency services to draw a huge amount of armed police to a specfic certain.

Starting in early May 2021, Patkovic and others made violent threats to detonate explosive devices on phone calls to Jewish hospitals and care centers.

He made six separate threats to hospitals where local law enforcement responded to 911 calls. Patkovic also live streamed the threatening calls via discord (social media and messaging service) channels.

“As alleged, the defendant and his coconspirators, motivated by their hatred of Jewish people, targeted hospitals and care centers in New York City and on Long Island with hoax bomb threats, needlessly endangering patients and staff by creating chaos and alarm,” Breon Peace, Eastern District attorney said in a news release. “Our highest priority is ensuring all members of our community are protected and we will use all resources possible to prosecute dangerous bomb threats and swatting schemes to the fullest extent of the law.”

Patkovic’s violent threats of detonating explosive devices resulted in a partial evacuation and lockdown of an entire hospital on Long Island, in September 2021. Local law enforcement did not find any explosive devices at any of the locations.

“These alleged actions incited unnecessary hysteria and redirected limited resources to mitigate a false alarm,” Christie Curtis, FBI assistant director said in the release. “The FBI will not tolerate those who utilize hoax bomb threat schemes to satisfy their anti-Semitic beliefs and endanger the wellbeing of our communities.”

Patkovic called the Jewish people derogatory names and threatened to “blow them up to the sky,” according to the release. He also identified himself as “Abrahimavich” when speaking to an operator from a Jewish hospital in Nassau County on Sept. 15 2021.

In May 2021, he placed two threats to a Jewish hospital in Queens, and one to a hospice and care center in Queens. He later made three threats in Sept. 2021, to the Jewish hospital in Queens, the Jewish hospital in Nassau County and the hospice and care center in Queens.

Patkovic was arrested on Aug. 20 at his residence. He made his initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Youlee Yim Yu in U.S. District Court of Oregon later that day.

If found guilty of all charges, Patkovic could be sentenced up to 155 years in prison.