California Man Blows Off Hands with Explosives

Oct. 8, 2009 — -- A young man blew his hands off while making homemade high explosives inside his family's California home, where his mother ran a day care center, law enforcement sources say. Neo Nazi and anarchist type literature were found in the home, authorities said. There is no known link at this time to any organized rightwing extremist group.

The sheriff in Riverside, CA said suspect Benjamin Kuzelka, 23, was also growing marijuana in the home.

A substantial quantity of the high explosive TATP -- used in London bombings and suspected in the current Najiboullah Zazi /alleged New York terror plot case -- has been located at the scene, counter terrorism sources say.

After cordoning off the scene, LAPD bomb technicians placed explosive material in a LAPD "total containment vehicle," and a bomb technician yelled "fire in the hole" before detonating it. Officials say there is no relation to any of the ongoing terrorism cases.

Kuzelka is expected to be charged with manufacturing explosives, growing marijuana and child endangerment, since he was mixing the explosives inside the Kuzelka Day Care center run by his mother. He is currently in the hospital with serious injuries and will be taken to jail upon release. His brother and mother were also arrested on marijuana charges.

Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are on their way to the scene. The FBI says "there is no threat to public safety."

Phone calls left at the day care center were not immediately returned.

This is the second case involving explosives in Riverside, CA in the past 24 hours. Another resident was arrested for possession of an explosive device, possession of bomb making material, possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition. The suspect was booked into the Riverside County Jail and is expected to be arraigned today. The cases appear to be unrelated.

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