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Former Laguna Niguel man accused of threatening mass shooting at courthouse

October 7, 2023

A former Laguna Niguel man is accused of threatening a mass shooting at an Orange County courthouse after allegedly sending a series of threatening messages following a recent police pursuit.

Byrom Zuniga Sanchez is facing is facing a federal felony charge after allegedly sending an email entitled “Active shooter — Lamoreux Justice Center,” referencing an Orange County superior courthouse in Orange that primarily handles civil cases and where Sanchez was apparently previously involved in a family law matter.

According to a sworn statement by an FBI agent, Sanchez wrote in the July 2023 email that he was going to “murder everything responsible for traumatizing (a family member),” adding that there was “absolutely nothing OCSD (Orange County Sheriff’s Department) can do to prevent, prepare, nor impede.” He also allegedly wrote “Does Friday the 13th, October 2023 work for you? I prefer sooner, but I like to make moments feel special, and unforgettable.”

Sanchez allegedly signed the email with his full name and posted it on an Instagram account. It was found filtered into a junk folder within the court email system, the FBI agent wrote.

The agent described it as among a series of threats Sanchez is alleged to have made against a sitting Orange County Superior Court judge who presided over a family law matter he was involved with, along with other judges, attorneys and law enforcement.

He allegedly wrote to the judge in one email, “I am more committed to murdering you than I am to being present as a father.”

Sanchez is “the subject of multiple domestic violence protective orders and a workplace violence order,” the agent wrote, and has multiple warrants in Orange County related to evading police, reckless driving, invasion of privacy and other threats.

At one point, the agent wrote, Sanchez went to the home of a prosecutor with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, asked if they were home, then said to tell the prosecutor that “Byrom stopped by.” On another occasion, the agent wrote, Sanchez went to the OC DA office and “made a scene of dancing and singing erratically, and demanded to speak with the Orange County District Attorney himself.”

On May 5, 2022, Sanchez allegedly led deputies on chase after they responded to reports that he was violating a domestic violence court order. He surrendered, the agent wrote, after a multi-hour standoff at a business.

It isn’t clear from court records if Sanchez is in custody or where he currently resides. No hearings have been scheduled.

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