Illegal immigrant charged with assault for fracturing 8-year-old girl's skull with baseball-sized rock thrown at New Jersey school bus

A 40-year-old suspect accused of severely injuring an eight-year-old girl by throwing a rock through the window of a school bus has been identified as an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal record

Hernando Garcia-Morales is accused of a January 7 incident in which a baseball-sized rock was thrown into a school bus returning from a field trip. The rock struck an eight-year-old girl, causing serious injuries.

Garcia-Morales was arrested two days later at a homeless encampment in Palisades Park, New Jersey. According to police, he told officers he believed the bus “was the devil or his enemy.”

According to a report by the New York Post, federal officials said that Garcia-Morales is in the United States illegally, though it remains unclear when or where he entered the country. Authorities say his criminal history spans roughly two decades.

In 2006, Garcia-Morales was arrested on weapons possession and theft charges. He was convicted on both counts and served 330 days in jail. In 2023, he was arrested for burglary in Hackensack, though those charges were later dropped. The following day, he was arrested again and charged with providing false information and attempted burglary. Those charges were reduced, and he ultimately received a 30-day jail sentence and a $905 fine for disorderly conduct.

Garcia-Morales is also a suspect in other rock-throwing incidents reported last year, including cases in which vehicles and police officers were targeted. Authorities say he has additionally been accused on two occasions of peeping into homes in Bogota.

Garcia-Morales was not deported due to New Jersey’s sanctuary immigration policies. 

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin addressed the incident, saying, “Violently targeting a school bus full of children is extremely wicked and heinous.”

“Hernando Garcia-Morales should have never been in this country, let alone released after multiple arrests into New Jersey communities,” she said. “ICE has lodged an arrest detainer against this monster, and we hope New Jersey’s sanctuary politicians will help us keep him off American streets for good.”

The Department of Justice is suing four cities in New Jersey, alleging they are obstructing federal immigration authorities through sanctuary policies that prevent local law enforcement from cooperating with federal officials to deport criminal illegal immigrants.