Homemade Trouble 2

Updated information at end of article
Federal, County and Local law enforcement responded to a situation on Seminole Avenue Monday night concerning illegal explosives. In a precautionary measure, neighboring residents were temporarily evacuated from their homes as the situation was assessed.

Modern day fears have created a new environment where dangerous, but maliciously benign, activity needs to be addressed seriously.

The Oakland Journal provides you with the facts from The Oakland Police Department press release:

– The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded to the Oakland Police Department indicating that they had information that there may be substances at a residence in Oakland that are capable of making Improvised Explosive Devices. Investigators from the above mentioned agencies along with the Bergen County Prosecutors Office spoke with the subject at Oakland Police Department Headquarters. After speaking to the subject, he was accompanied to his house on Seminole Avenue.

Once inside, numerous components used to make these IEDs were observed within the house, which was then evacuated. The Oakland Volunteer Fire Department, Oakland Volunteer First Aid Squad and the Bergen County Police Bomb Squad were dispatched to render assistance. All the responding agencies coordinated their efforts to render the area safe, evacuating neighboring residents and removing the explosive materials from the home. The Bergen County Bomb Squad transported the explosive material to a remote location and detonated same.

Two adult male Oakland residents,, were placed under arrest and charged by The Oakland Police Department with being in possession of a destructive device. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is continuing with their investigation into this matter, which may result in the filing of federal charges. –

Neighbors, trying to get on with the day, were being interviewed by numerous news sources. All described the neighborhood as normally quiet, and the family involved as good people.

Although IEDs have come to the forefront of public awareness most recently because of their use by insurgents in Iraq, the techniques have been taught to American soldiers going back to WWII. An IED is usually defined as an explosive device fabricated in an improvised manner incorporating destructive, lethal, noxious, pyrotechnic, or incendiary chemicals.

UPDATE
In the course of researching issues raised by the incident on Seminole Avenue, The Oakland Journal was able to find recipes for illegal homemade explosives, videos of the process, and videos of the young engineers who film the end result in secluded wooden areas. This research was accomplished in under five minutes. Five more minutes of research gave us access to a community of people interested in this subject matter, and advice on using specific grammatical structure so that forum participants can avoid prosecution should law enforcement agencies be monitoring the discussion board. The monitoring of Internet activity has been reported as the instigation for the ensuing investigation in Oakland.

As the younger brother recently received a scholarship to a technical college, his interests might coincide with many participants interacting on internet websites. None of the “homemade explosives” websites researched by The Oakland Journal supported, condoned or encouraged malicious behavior. The majority of them appeared to have been created by young, technically savvy individuals, who despite the illegality of their activities, felt a compulsion to put their knowledge and skills on public display. Bergen County Freeholder Tomas Padilla told News12, “The only thing I was told by police was that this was the same type of material used in the Madrid bombing.” It is also, apparently, the same material you can witness being set off on a variety of Internet video postings by Americans.

Due to the instability of chemical mixtures, and the small margin of error for mistakes, it is not surprising that an estimated three thousand people in America were injured in 2006 by homemade explosives.