TUCSON, Ariz. — A Tucson man has been arrested after officials say he used social media to threaten to rape and murder a University of Arizona student and then attempted to have her swatted by police.
The United States Attorney’s Office said Caleb Alfred Tifft, 29, was arrested on May 8 by the FBI's Investigation’s Southern Arizona Violent Crime and Gang Task Force.
Officials said Tifft began threatening and stalking the victim, a female student at the university, on Feb. 7. At that time, Tifft sent her a message on the Facebook Messenger app in which he said, “Think I’ll just go rape and kill a girl at this point. I give up. I’m the bad guy.”
The following day, an injunction against harassment was issued against Tifft which required him to have no contact with the victim.
The University of Arizona also restricted him from being on its campuses and properties for one year.
Officials said on March 1, Tifft continued his harassment of the victim by attempting to have her swatted.
Tiff called 911 and told the dispatcher his friend was in a specific building on the campus of the University of Arizona and that friend intended to commit a mass shooting. The phone call was ended before it could be sent to police at the university, but the phone number used to make the call was identified as Tifft's.
Later that same day, Tifft called the campus police department to claim that his friend was in the same building as before and intended to commit a mass shooting. In this call, he specifically identified the victim as the potential shooter and said she was inside the campus building he identified. He then ended the call.
"A UAPD officer familiar with Tifft from having interacted with him previously listened to the recorded call and determined the voice matched Tifft’s," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. "The telephone number associated with the call was the same number used to contact the PCSD."
Tifft has been charged with cyberstalking and transmitting interstate threats. Each carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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