Feds: Bx. bomb bros studied Vegas killer
The twin brothers busted for allegedly building bombs in their Bronx apartment were crafting “improvised napalm” and an explosion big enough to “blow off a limb or body part” — while taking notes on how Las Vegas mass murderer Stephen Paddock pulled off his massacre, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
FBI agents discovered a hoard of ominous items inside Christian and Tyler Toro’s Pelham Parkway home, including seven boxes of fireworks and a gas mask, Assistant US Attorney Elizabeth Hanft said in Manhattan federal court during a bail hearing for Christian.
“Agents uncovered a veri- table trove of extremely dangerous items . . . essentially materials for making bombs,” Hanft said, adding that the items “can create a big explosion, an explosion frankly sufficient to blow off a limb or body part.”
The prosecutor said “gasoline and Styrofoam — essen- tially improvised napalm” was also discovered on the fire escape.
“There is evidence that on at least one occasion, the defendant lit some of it on fire to demonstrate . . . how it worked,” Hanft said of the powder collected from the fireworks.
The siblings, 27, also exchanged text messages in wake of the Las Vegas massacre last October, when Paddock killed 58 concertgoers.
“In the shooting in Las Vegas, the shooter had a police scanner. We need to invest in one,” Tyler allegedly texted his brother.
Christian, a former Harlem Prep HS teacher, replied, “Copy. I see a couple on Amazon.”
The siblings were arrested last week and accused of offering students $50 an hour to “break apart fireworks and store the powder,” according to court papers.
Christian’s lawyer Amy Gallicchio said, “There is no bomb. There are inner materials. There are no fuses, no wires, no detonator, no sinister plan.”