Earlier this month at Purdue University, a college student who attempted to pay for a parking ticket found himself arrested and accused... of terrorism. 'Terroristic mischief,' to be precise: Purdue senior accused of 'terroristic mischief.'
21-year-old Roy C. Sun was arrested after a suspicious package led officials to evacuate the Purdue University Visitors Center. Sun, a senior in the College of Engineering, was arrested on suspicion of terroristic mischief and possession of stolen property.
According to a university press release, three college-aged people entered the Visitor Information Center with a package they placed in the lobby. They then moved the package to a hallway and left. Okay, that's kind of suspicious, I guess.
Police evacuated about 10 people from the building, then used a portable X-ray machine to examine the box. The box contained a wheel lock, a parking ticket and $20.
Purdue Parking Services had written the ticket found in the box and placed the wheel lock on Sun's vehicle the previous day because the car allegedly displayed a parking permit that didn't belong to him. Don't know if this was his idea of a joke, but I'm fairly confident that this was the wrong way to go about paying for the ticket.
Under Indiana law, terroristic mischief is a Class C felony. It's defined as knowingly or intentionally placing a device with the intent to cause a reasonable person to believe that it is a weapon of mass destruction.
As of last week, Sun still hadn't formally been charged. The prosecutor's office is waiting on more information to determine what criminal charges, if any, will be filed against him. Meanwhile, a group of students has organized a "Free Roy Sun" campaign and protesting on his behalf: Protest follows Purdue student's arrest for 'terroristic mischief'.
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