A disturbing incident disrupted a church service in southwest Miami-Dade this past Sunday when a man, later identified as Isaac Lopez, caused panic by claiming that he had a bomb in his backpack. WSVN reports that during the service at St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church, a parishioner noticed Lopez acting suspicious and alerted an usher.
After being approached by the usher and asked about his bag, Lopez allegedly said, "It's a bomb," handing over the backpack. According to authorities, a high-pitched alarm that resembled a countdown then began to sound inside the church. In a statement obtained by NBC Miami, the usher secured the backpack in a nearby room before Lopez came in with his phone, which was still emitting a loud ticking noise.
The service, already disturbed by the alarm, was further disrupted when Lopez walked back into the nave after placing his noisy phone in the backpack. As the congregation started to leave at the end of the service, Lopez shouted "Allahu Akbar," frightening those present. The day following the incident, Lopez was identified by church members and arrested at his home yesterday. He has been charged with making a false report about planting a bomb, a felony, and disturbing a religious assembly, a misdemeanor.
Local authorities took Lopez into custody, and he was booked into jail, facing serious charges. Lopez's claim, while it turned out to be misleading, created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty among those at St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church, where they had gathered for peaceful worship. He ran back into the church after the high-pitched alarm rang out, according to the report from NBC Miami.
