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New York man built and stashed home-made bombs across the city, prosecutors say

Michael Gann, 55, has been indicted after plotting to set off the explosive devices, which he stored on rooftops and threw on train tracks

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Surveillance footage shows a man identified by prosecutors as Michael Gann carrying what an indictment says are improvised explosive devices on the rooftop of a residential apartment building, in the SoHo neighbourhood of New York. Photo: US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York via AP
Associated Press

A New York man accused of plotting to set off home-made explosives he had stashed at sites across Manhattan has been indicted, federal prosecutors said.

Michael Gann, 55, built at least seven improvised explosive devices last month with chemicals he bought online in May and took the bombs to Manhattan, according to an indictment handed up on Tuesday by a grand jury.

Gann, of Long Island, stored some on the devices on the rooftops of adjoining residential buildings and threw another onto the subway tracks on the Williamsburg Bridge, prosecutors said.

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No one was injured by any of the devices. Gann was arrested in early June near the buildings, and authorities said he had one of the devices in his possession.

Gann put “countless lives at risk”, Jay Clayton, the interim US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement.

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Gann is charged with attempted destruction of property by means of explosives, transport of explosive materials, and unlawful possession of destructive devices. He could face up to 40 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Authorities accuse Michael Gann of creating several improvised explosive devices and of throwing one onto subway tracks in Manhattan. Photo: US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York via TNS
Authorities accuse Michael Gann of creating several improvised explosive devices and of throwing one onto subway tracks in Manhattan. Photo: US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York via TNS
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