Pipe-bomb fan nabbed in Florida

A Florida man was arrested early Thursday morning after police found and disabled more than two dozen pipe bombs near a strip mall in Boynton Beach.

Gregory Haasze, 34, admitted to placing the explosives in a grassy area to remove tree stumps. He told police he bought the explosive materials on eBay and built the devices himself, authorities said.

Officers were initially called to the scene late Wednesday night to investigate a report of a loud noise. They ended up finding several “suspicious objects” and decided to shut down traffic and evacuate some of the homes and businesses in the area, police said in a series of Facebook posts.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office bomb squad, which was called to assist in the investigation, found 26 PVC pipe bombs in the grassy area and in a nearby dumpster, according to an arrest report obtained by the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

It was unclear how many devices had exploded before police arrived, but there were no reports of injuries.

Haasze (inset) told police he has been making pipe bombs for years and detonates them for different reasons such as celebrating Fourth of July, the newspaper reported.

The suspect admitted to detonating three bombs this week and to throwing all his materials in the dumpster after he saw police officers in the neighborhood, authorities said.

Some of his bombs contained screws, nails and pellets, according to police.

“We are grateful that no one was injured as a result of these devices,” the Boynton Beach Police Department wrote on Facebook.

Haasze was charged with 26 counts of making, possessing, throwing, projecting, placing or discharging a destructive device.