Taiwanese student Sun An-tso, who threatened US school, now faces federal charges and 10 years in jail

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A photograph taken from Sun An-tso's Facebook account shows him using a flame thrower. Photo: Sun An Tso/Facebook via Yahoo! News Taiwan

Published: 12:53pm, 7 Jun 2018Updated: 12:53pm, 7 Jun 2018

A Taiwanese exchange student who already pleaded guilty in state court to making shooting threats against the Catholic high school he was attending in Pennsylvania has now been hit with federal firearms charges, US prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Sun An-tso, 18, was charged in a federal criminal complaint issued on Tuesday with possessing ammunition while in the United States on a non-immigrant visa, a spokesman for the US Department of Justice said in a statement.

This undated photo provided by the Upper Darby Police Department shows Sun An-tso, a Taiwanese exchange student charged with making terroristic threats against his high school, in Pennsylvania. Photo: AP

Sun was sentenced earlier this week to between four and 23 months in jail followed by deportation after pleading guilty in Delaware County District Court to making terroristic threats.

He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison if convicted on the federal charges.

An attorney for Sun could not be reached for comment on Wednesday afternoon.

Prosecutors say Sun, a Taiwanese national who was living with an American host family while studying at a high school in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, told another student in March that he should stay home on May 1 because “I’m going to come here armed and shoot up the school. Just kidding.”