Patrick Dai, 21, of Pittsford, Monroe County, New York, United States is an alumnus of Pittsford-Mendon High School in Pittsford. In August 2020, he entered Cornell University in Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York to pursue a bachelor’s degree in engineering.
In 2021, Dai sank into a deep depression, according to his parents. In the spring of 2022 and 2023, the Cornell University student took off two semesters from his studies, following a doctor’s suggestion.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an invasion, breaching the Gaza–Israel barrier. On October 28, 2023, Dai wrote on Cornell University’s section of the online discussion site Greekrank, “if you see a jewish “person” on campus follow them home and slit their throats. rats need to be eliminated from cornell”.
“gonna shoot up 104 west,” Dai wrote on Greekrank on October 29, 2023, referring to Cornell University’s dining hall 104 West, which caters mostly to Kosher diets. “allahu akbar! from the river to the sea, palestine will be free! glory to hamas! liberation by any means necessary.”
On October 31, 2023, Dai was arrested at his apartment in Ithaca and booked into the Broome County Jail in Binghamton, Broome County, New York. After his arrest, his father told the New York Post, “My son is in severe depression.”
“He cannot control his emotion well due to the depression,” Dai’s father continued. “No, I don’t think he committed the crime.”
Dai was charged with posting threats to kill or injure another using interstate communications. On November 1, 2023, he will make his initial appearance in federal court in Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York before a U.S. Magistrate Judge.
CONAN Daily 