Hernando Garcia-Morales accused of throwing rock at school bus is in US illegally
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A New Jersey man accused of throwing a baseball-sized rock at a school bus, injuring a teenage girl, is in the country illegally, according to federal authorities.
New Jersey State Police say Hernando Garcia-Morales, 40, of Palisades Park, faces multiple charges in connection with a motor vehicle incident that occurred northbound on the New Jersey Turnpike on Jan. 7.
A large rock shattered the bus window as third-grade children were returning to Yeshivat Noam Jewish day school in Paramus after a class trip to Liberty Science Center, the school previously told Fox News Digital.
Authorities said that an 8-year-old girl suffered a fractured skull after hitting a rock and had to undergo surgery.
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A New Jersey girl was injured when a rock was thrown through the window of a school bus returning from a field trip, authorities said. (New Jersey State Police)
Garcia-Morales was arrested Jan. 9 by New Jersey Turnpike State Police on charges of aggravated assault, resisting arrest and weapons possession. The Bogota Police Department also charged him with aggravated assault, trespassing, defiance, trespassing and destruction of property.
U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) has issued a warrant to arrest an individual, claiming Hernando Garcia-Morales is an illegal immigrant from Mexico, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Saturday.
DHS told Fox News Digital that Garcia-Morales had a history of violence and was in the country illegally but was not deported due to New Jersey’s asylum seeker immigration policies.
“Violently targeting a school bus full of children is an extremely evil and disgusting act,” DHS Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “Hernando Garcia-Morales should never have been in this country, let alone released after numerous arrests in New Jersey communities.”
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Hernando Garcia-Morales, the New Jersey man accused of throwing rocks at a school bus and injuring an 8-year-old girl, is in the country illegally, according to DHS. (New Jersey State Police; Department of Homeland Security)
“ICE has taken a detainee into custody against this monster, and we hope sanctuary politicians in New Jersey will help us keep him off American streets for good,” McLaughlin added.
DHS said it did not know when or where Garcia-Morales entered the country illegally, but said he had a criminal history spanning two decades.
He was arrested in 2006 for gun possession and burglary, and in 2023, he was arrested for burglary after allegedly breaking into a building in Hackensack, New Jersey, according to The New York Post. Those charges were not pursued, but Garcia-Morales was arrested the next day in Hackensack and charged with providing false information and attempted theft, the publication reported.
Hernando Garcia-Morales is facing multiple charges after a rock shattered the window of a school bus on the New Jersey Turnpike, authorities said. (Department of Homeland Security)
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Hackensack Municipal Court reduced the charges on September 20, 2023, sentencing Garcia-Morales to 30 days in jail and a $905 fine for disorderly conduct.
Authorities told Yeshivat Noam Jewish day school officials that Garcia-Morales confessed to the specific incident on the New Jersey Turnpike, as well as several other rock-throwing incidents in the area, the school said.
A superior court judge ruled Jan. 16 that Garcia-Morales will remain in the Bergen County jail until the case is resolved, The Post reported.
The Justice Department announced last year that it would sue four New Jersey cities, accusing local officials of obstructing federal law and undermining efforts to enforce immigration laws through sanctuary city policies.
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
