Penn State Altoona campus is near my parents in Hollidaysburg and not far from Scotty's neighborhood either. Its not very often we get headlines in national news. Russian teen charged with possessing weapon of mass destruction, Pennsylvania authorities say By Todd Starnes Published January 25, 2014 FoxNews.com UNDATED: Vladislav Miftakhov, 19, was arrested on suspicion of possessing a weapon of mass destruction, authorities in Pennsylvania said. (Altoona Police Department) A teenage Russian national was arrested late Friday on charges of possessing a weapon of mass destruction, police in Altoona, Pa. said. Blair County Prison confirmed to Fox News that Vladislav Miftakhov, 19, is in custody. He is charged with possessing a weapon of mass destruction, risking a catastrophe, possessing instruments of crime, prohibited offensive weapons, incendiary devices, recklessly endangering another person, and several drug-related charges. Officers had been investigating an alleged marijuana growing operation when they discovered the alleged bomb, according to a statement posted on the police department's Facebook page. They said the bomb was found inside a suitcase along with "assorted bomb making materials." "The bomb was safely deconstructed by experts from the Pennsylvania State Police Bomb Squad," the statement read. Miftakhov allegedly told investigators he bought the bomb-making materials online over the past few weeks. Police did not release any details about a possible motive or possible targets. A desk sergeant told Fox News additional information could be released later today. The Altoona Police Department said federal agencies had been notified and are assisting with the investigation. Click here for more from the Altoona Mirror.
(updated 11 a.m.) Penn State Altoona student arrested on weapons of mass destruction charge January 25, 2014 The Altoona Mirror Save | The Altoona Police Department arrested a Penn State Altoona student living in the city on charges of possession of a weapon of mass destruction, as well as other charges, after investigating reports he was growing marijuana at his residence. Vladislav Miftakhov, 19, of 118 N. 9th Ave. was arrested late Friday night, and police said they found a suspected bomb and other bomb-making materials inside a suitcase. Experts from the Pennsylvania State Police bomb squad safely deconstructed the suspected bomb, authorities said, adding that Miftakhov told investigators he purchased the materials on the Internet over the past several weeks. Miftakhov is listed in the Penn State Altoona directory as an engineering major. Article Photos Vladislav Miftakhov He is charged with possessing a weapon of mass destruction, risking a catastrophe, possession with intent to deliver marijuana, possessing instruments of crime, prohibited offensive weapons, incendiary devices, recklessly endangering another person, possession of controlled substances and possession of drug paraphernalia. Miftakhov was transported to Blair County Central Booking for arraignment. Please see Sunday's Mirror for more details.
Man this seems to be a trend these days! Reminds me of what happened in Boston not too far from where I work.. Sad statement!
Hopefully the feds take the lead in charging this gentleman. It sounds like he needs to be properly debriefed then disappear for a while.
Interestingly he is being held in the county prison on only $500,000 bond. It sounds like he had a pipe bomb or two and they are "making a federal case out if it." If this was a real WMD case wouldn't he be held by the FBI without bond?
If that's the case then I'm sure he's not the first engineering major to uhhhh, engineer , some kind of exploding device. Some of those descriptions were pretty vague and they didn't list the specific materials or type of bomb he built?
Good point. "The Altoona Police Department said federal agencies had been notified and are assisting with the investigation." I'm guessing this means the locals will hold him until the feds are done crawling up his azz with a microscope making sure he's not connected to any real bad guys. Feds can always swoop in later and take him if they see fit.
Who knows, maybe dummy just thought it would be a good idea to booby trap his weed stash in case he got jacked.
I think this is the same kid in the green shirt in this YouTube video of “Bay Area Underground Boxing”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=CHBhhxJMxn0#t=167 The kid was part of a “Bay Area Underground” Facebook group in 2011.
I remember having an option of rifle practice as an after school activity. A pipe bomb is a glorified M-80 with shrapnel. Things done changed.
When I was a freshman in highschool, 1993 or 94, I remember a kid was granted permission to do a speech on cleaning a gun and so was able to bring a shot gun to school. Myself, I did my speech on the vacuum tubes, their life span, and how to test them. I had a mysterious black box (tube tester) full of meters and switches. I don't think either of those would have flown today-- he wouldn't be able to bring in a gun and they probably would have detonated my tube tester.
