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Within hours of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., a 29-year-old man allegedly boarded a New Orleans school bus with a gun and threatened the children on board, The Times-Picayune reports.

Keith Petit threatened to shoot everyone on the bus if they “messed with” his family member, according to a student who was on board the bus at the time. Petit’s alleged threats reportedly caused the children to “scream out of fear.” He was charged with extortion, aggravated assault and illegal carrying of a weapon, according to booking records.

(WWL-TV reports that Petit never boarded the bus and the driver followed safety protocol.)

District Judge Gerard Hansen set Petit’s bail at $75,000 at a hearing on Tuesday. Judge Hansen, referring to the Connecticut school shootings, made sure Petit understood the seriousness of his actions.

“Your timing is terrible,” the judge said. “You get on a school bus with a gun after everything that is going on in this country? Your timing couldn’t be worse.”