A Florida man is in custody after police found manuals on guerrilla warfare and booby traps, explosive devices, bodily fluids and other substances in his parents’ house that they say could have caused “significant destruction and loss of life.”
The containers, etc., we pulled out of the DeBary home w/ explosive devices. Many of these contain urine. But he also had all the ingredients to make bombs pic.twitter.com/wq6ttwr8dP
— Volusia Sheriff (@VolusiaSheriff) November 13, 2017
More photos of materials found in our suspect's home. pic.twitter.com/b2qCSVxxSD
— Volusia Sheriff (@VolusiaSheriff) November 13, 2017
The suspect's reading material. pic.twitter.com/LdH12Y0AnT
— Volusia Sheriff (@VolusiaSheriff) November 13, 2017
X-ray images of the suspect's devices. One of these was rigged inside a Spongebob Squarepants lunchbox. pic.twitter.com/Dm68ocnEHw
— Volusia Sheriff (@VolusiaSheriff) November 13, 2017
“A search warrant resulted in the discovery of an estimated 200 containers inside the house containing unknown powders, acids and other materials,” Volusia County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Andrew Gant said. “Many of them (about 79 at one point) have been placed into a containment area, and many have been determined not to be bomb-making materials but bodily fluids.”
Christopher Langer, 31, was taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail in DeBary, Florida, and charged with making/possessing a destructive device. Additional charges are possible pending the outcome of the investigation, Gant said. Bail has been set at $5,000.
Christopher Langer accused of making explosive devices at home #debary. Several devices found so far after @VolusiaSheriff called to home pic.twitter.com/NJzz4RgPkS
— claire metz (@clairemetzwesh) November 13, 2017
Langer is a known heroin addict who has been institutionalized against his will four times, according to officials. He is also an anarchist and fan of the Anonymous and Occupy movements according to his Facebook page.
Langer told officials that he was “anti-government” and wanted to get “revenge against the system” by harming first responders — even though first responders had saved his life only two weeks before when he overdosed on heroin.
His father, 62-year-old Scott Langer, called the police Sunday afternoon to report that his son was drunk and “out of control.” Langer had told his parents that he’d placed explosive substances in a grenade, according to police. They contacted the bomb squad, which conducted a 13-hour investigation of the home.
Volusia County sheriff’s deputies, detectives, Hazmat units from Volusia County and Deltona fire departments and members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were still on scene at 124 Bradwick Circle Monday morning.
Some homes in the neighborhood were evacuated during the initial stages of the investigation, but residents were able to return to their houses Sunday evening.
“It was a tale of two homes,” Volusia Sheriff Michael Chitwood said at a news conference Monday. “When you first walk in, you say, ‘I can’t believe someone is in here making bombs.’ And then you go into his room, which is absolutely deplorable… that if I was a roach I wouldn’t want to live in that room.”
He added, “That was how despicable, feces- and urine-filled, that room was.”
Langer initially denied having a grenade, but he eventually admitted it and led officers to where he had thrown it outside.
“Upon searching the area, the deputy found a metal pineapple-style grenade with a paper clip in place to hold the lever and keep it from exploding,” Gant said.
Chitwood said Langer had a “white mask” associated with a group but did not mention the specific organization. A visit to his Facebook page could provide further clues about that.
Christopher Langer was arrested in September after allegedly stealing his father’s laptop and generator.
Scott Langer said on Sept. 13 that his son had admitted to stealing and pawning the items to get money to support his drug habit, a police report said.
Christopher Langer admitted to getting $115 for the laptop and he said he and a friend took the generator somewhere to try to rent it out, a police report said. Christopher Langer was charged with dealing in stolen property, a second-degree felony.
Six years ago, Scott Langer appealed to a judge for leniency when his son was facing a possible prison sentence for drug-trafficking charges, DeBary Life reported.
“My son is a drug addict,” the elder Langer said of the then 24-year-old Christopher Langer. “He is a new father, and he has a good heart. He is not a violent person, and would not hurt a flea. But he is a drug addict.”
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