N.J. high school student charged with possessing explosives

EDISON, N.J. Police in New Jersey have charged a teenager with possession of explosive devices after police said they discovered a cache of homemade bombs and explosives in his home in Edison Township.

CBS New York reports that officers investigating recent bomb threats at Edison High School raided the home of a 16-year-old student after receiving a tip, police said.

Investigators said the stockpile included several gunpowder-packed carbon dioxide cartridge bombs with fuses attached as well as fireworks and disassembled shotgun shells which can be packed with pellets and used as shrapnel in an explosive device.

"It's still an investigation. We don't have any definitive evidence to suggest that he was putting a plan together or he was actively going to do anything at this point," Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan told WCBS 880?s Sean Adams.

Bryan said it could be a case of a misguided teen making his own fireworks, but that is still very dangerous.

The discovery came after at least five bomb threats have forced evacuations at schools across Passaic and Middlesex counties.

Edison High School administrators looking into three such threats sent a letter home to parents warning them of the ongoing security concerns.

Edison police said they have not have not linked the teen directly to making the threats.

The boy was released to a family member. His name was not released because he's a juvenile.

A student who didn't want to give his name was unnerved by the news.

"Makes me feel like you never know who's who. I mean, you could look at someone and think they're fine and then, at home, they're making bombs," the student told Adams. "Makes you feel unsafe."