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Teen Arrested - Making Fireworks or a Bomb?
11/11/09 5:45 pm   |   reporter: Jeremy Campbell   producer: Jeremy Campbell
ABC 33/40 News - Teen Arrested - Making Fireworks or a Bomb?
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Steele, AL - A teenager says the explosives in his room were homemade fireworks. The police chief in Steele, AL says it looked more like a bomb.  That wasn't the only weapon found in the child's room.  Police found illegal firearms, marijuana and potentially deadly explosives hidden in a 14-year old's bedroom. They arrested the honor student. Officers believe he taught himself to construct a makeshift-bomb by watching YouTube.

The teen claims he was making home made fireworks for fun - which is illegal. But police are investigating a potential crime that's far more severe. They found a collection of news magazines with the weapons. All have acts of terrorism in the headlines.

Now the 14-year old finds himself in the headlines after allegedly building a bomb with information from the internet.

Steele Police Chief Jim Clay says, "Whether he had any intention of doing a Columbine type thing, I don't know. I probably will never know."

Clay isn't taking any chances after discovering the weapons collection hidden in a teenager's bedroom. It includes a short barreled 22 gauge rifle - capped with a makeshift silencer. Plus knives, a handheld taser purchased online and a small marijuana plant. The gunpower from empty shell casings was used to build explosive devices. The teen called it fireworks.

But Clay says, "They were actually devises that could be considered bombs... It was extremely dangerous. Extremely."

It's the magazine collection from the Plainview Library that police consider incriminating evidence. Each issue focuses on a violent crime or act of terrorism. That prodded police to dig deeper.

Clay explains, "We have forensic investigations that are going to come in and do a search of the computer to see if there are any types of links to terrorism."

Depsite how it looks this could be a case of an honor student leading his own dangerous science experiment.

According to Clay, "We just want to make sure. And we want the public to make sure they watch their children."

Especially in this small rural town where many people turn to guns for recreation.

The teen faces possession charges.  More could come.

Police were alerted to this case by an elderly relative living with the child. She was part of the town's "Are You Ok?" program that checks in on senior citizens. When they visited her home she said she didn't feel safe. Ironically her complaint was about a housemate smoking in bed. The woman knew nothing of the weapons in the home.

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