VALDOSTA – A former Valdosta State University employee was taken into custody this week in connection with threatening emails sent to universities across the nation. 

Shawn Charles Merdinger, 50, of Lake Park was being held in the Tift County Jail; Monday, he had an initial appearance via videoconferencing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Weigle, according to the Middle District of Georgia U.S. Attorney’s Office.

He faces a criminal complaint for emailing interstate threats, according to an email from Melissa Hodges, public affairs director, U.S. Attorney’s Office. A criminal complaint is an allegation of unlawful conduct, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. 

A detention hearing is set for Thursday, April 23, according to the statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Merdinger was as assistant director for IT information security from 2014-16 at VSU, according to the university.

“VSU will continue to assist law enforcement in, but cannot comment on, the ongoing criminal investigation,” according to a statement released Tuesday by VSU.

Between April 16-19, federal investigators claim emails were sent to individuals employed at the University of California at Santa Barbara, University of Indiana, University of Texas, University of Texas at Austin, the University System of Georgia and Valdosta State University. 

“The messages contained threats of extreme violence to the victims and himself, as well as general threats of harm, including a specific statement targeted toward the University of Texas at Austin emailed on April 18,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“I am going to roll on faculty and execute you in your homes in alphabetical order,” according to one email sent to the university. “You might as well shut that place down. Here on out, any school faculty or student is going to be a personal, high value target for me. I’m coming in there. You better run.” 

Federal Bureau of Investigation agents took Merdinger into custody Sunday at his Lake Park home, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. 

“Maintaining the safety of our citizens is a top priority for our office and law enforcement throughout the Middle District of Georgia,” Charlie Peeler, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, said in a statement. “I am grateful to the FBI and our state and local law-enforcement partners for reacting quickly to shut down this alleged threat.”

“The FBI must take any threat to human life seriously,” Chris Hacker, special agent in charge of FBI Atlanta, said in a statement. “This arrest would not have been possible without help from the Valdosta State University Police Department, the Lowndes County Sheriff Office and the universities who received these terrorizing threats.”