Two Bronx Men Arrested in Terror Scheme – By William K. Rashbaum & William Neuman (nytimes.com) / Feb 15 2018
A former Harlem high school teacher and his twin brother were arrested on Thursday in a federal investigation and charged with building an explosive device, according to court papers.
The two men kept boxes full of what the government said were bomb-making materials in a closet in an apartment they shared in the Bronx, according to a criminal complaint filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan.
The teacher, Christian Toro, was arrested on Jan. 31 on charges of raping a minor. The other man was identified as Tyler Toro. The complaint said that a diary found in the apartment contained writing that referred to the brothers as “Twin Toros.” “Strike us now,” they wrote, “we will return with nano-thermite.”
The complaint said that the bomb-making materials included potassium nitrate, aluminum powder, iron oxide, confectioners sugar and a bag of metal balls that could be used as shrapnel in a bomb.
The court papers said that the men paid students from the high school where Mr. Toro worked to break apart fireworks and store powder that came out of the fireworks in containers.
Law enforcement agents who searched the apartment on Wednesday found a yellow backpack that contained a purple index card with the handwritten words: “Under the full moon the small ones will know terror.”
A law enforcement official could not say what the men’s intended target was or whether the two were affiliated with, or influenced by, an international organization.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he would hold an 8 p.m. news conference with police and Federal Bureau of Investigation officials to discuss a “significant investigation.”
Law enforcement officials would not immediately reveal additional specifics about the case. Reporters for The New York Times will be adding details as the story develops.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/nyregion/terror-arrest-bronx.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur
