'Serious' bomb-making materials are discovered inside NYC home following a fire as tenant 'with a survivalist guide' is charged with reckless endangerment
A Queens man has been charged with reckless endangerment after 'serious' bomb-making materials, including 40 pounds of nitrate, was discovered at his home just hours after the building caught fire.
Marak Squires, 37, was arrested and taken to a Manhattan hospital late Tuesday after the suspicious items, including military books on explosives, were found at the two-story building on 19th Street in Astoria where he lives.
Police described Squires, who was filmed being taken into custody without a shirt on, as a 'distraught individual'. He was taken to hospital because of his 'emotional state', authorities said.
Squires has been described by neighbors as a divorced father whose 'shades were always closed'.
The FBI has since been brought in to help investigate after the stash of bomb-making materials were found soon after a blaze at the home was extinguished on Tuesday afternoon.
The items were discovered when fire officials at the scene, as well as the owner of the building, were inspecting the damage to the property caused by the blaze.
A shirtless Marak Squires, 37, was arrested and taken to a Manhattan hospital late Tuesday after the suspicious items were found at the two-story building on 19th Street in Astoria where he lives. He has been charged with reckless endangerment
The FBI has since launched an investigation after the stash of bomb-making materials were found soon after the blaze at the home was extinguished on Tuesday afternoon
The FBI was at the scene early Wednesday as they continued to investigate the fire and subsequent findings
The homeowner told Pix11 that fire crews had pulled a black crate into the front yard as they were fighting the blaze.
He said he alerted the FBI after finding fuses and powder inside the crate.
Law enforcement sources say up to 40 pounds of potassium nitrate was found at the scene.
Fire marshals say they found a supply of chemicals and 'a number of books and manuals' that led them to summon the NYPD bomb squad.
No 'assembled' device ended up being found at the home.
NYPD deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism John Miller said in a press conference Tuesday night that chemicals found inside the home could be combined to make an explosive.
'The chemicals separately are what they are, but taken together they can assemble an explosive device,' Miller said.
'There were books about military explosives, booby traps and other things.'
Mark Torre of the NYPD bomb squad described them as 'precursor materials' that could be made into a dangerous device.
FBI agents at the scene on Wednesday seized evidence from the home after it authorities said 'serious' bomb-making materials had been found
Law enforcement officials investigate outside the house on Tuesday night
Federal agents joined the NYPD in investigating the apparent bomb-making materials
Nearby buildings were evacuated as authorities investigated the fire and reports of the suspicious items
The NYPD bomb squad was called to Astoria, Queens, Tuesday night after reports that 'serious bomb-making materials' were discovered by the owner of the property where a fire broke out earlier in the day
The man is known to police but it is too early to say whether he could be linked to any organization, Miller said.
Squires is known to law enforcement after a previous domestic violence arrest.
A neighbor described Squires as a divorced father whose 'shades were always closed'.
Footage showed Squires being taken away from the scene after he greeted firefighters in an 'argumentative' manner with burns on his hands.
One person is believed to have been injured in the fire. It is not yet clear if the injured person is Squires.
Authorities had evacuated the surrounding buildings and shut down the streets as they investigated the fire and subsequent discovery of the chemicals.
They are still investigating the incident.
Sniffer dogs were on the scene after the potential bomb-making equipment was found
The owner of the property called the NYPD and FBI after the crate was discovered
One person was injured in the blaze earlier in the day and taken to hospital
A law enforcement official at the scene where bomb-making materials were found