HOUSTON (AP) - The Latest on the arrest of a man caught trying to plant explosives on a Confederate statue at a Houston park (all times local):
5:50 p.m.
Authorities have collected and disposed of hazardous materials found at the home of a man accused of trying to damage a Confederate statue at a Houston park with explosives.
Houston Fire Department Chief Samuel Peña says the materials were disposed of during a small controlled detonation at the home Monday afternoon. Several houses in the neighborhood were evacuated while authorities had collected the materials.
Authorities declined to specify what materials they found in the home of 25-year-old Andrew Schneck, citing the ongoing investigation.
Deron Ogletree, with the FBI’s Houston office, says investigators are still determining a motive but there are “no indications of any additional threats to the Houston area.”
Schneck is charged with attempting to maliciously damage or destroy property receiving federal financial assistance and he remains in custody.
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4:15 p.m.
Authorities continue collecting chemicals and other items found at the home of a Houston man accused of trying to damage a Confederate statue at a Houston park with explosive materials.
Several houses near the home of 25-year-old Andrew Schneck were evacuated Monday.
After Schneck was allegedly caught trying to place explosives on the statue of a Confederate lieutenant, he told authorities he had other chemicals in his home, where he lives with his mother.
Houston Assistant Police Chief Larry Satterwhite said “significant hazardous materials” were found. Authorities were expected to detonate the materials.
According to court documents, Schneck’s mother told investigators her son uses one of their properties “to conduct his chemistry experiments.”
Court documents say Schneck has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Austin College in Sherman, Texas.
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3:25 p.m.
Authorities say a Houston man accused of trying to damage a Confederate statue at a Houston park was caught with two types of explosive materials.
According to a criminal complaint, 25-year-old Andrew Schneck had a plastic bottle with what’s likely nitroglycerin, used in the manufacture of explosives.
Authorities say he also had a small aluminum tube with a white powder. Tests showed it was Hexamethylene triperoxide diamine, used as an initiating or primary explosive.
The complaint says when Schneck was confronted near the statue by a park ranger, he tried to drink the bottle with the nitroglycerin but spit out the liquid and then poured it out on the ground.
Schneck was arrested Saturday night and made his first court appearance Monday.
Philip Hilder, Schneck’s attorney, declined to comment.
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1:02 p.m.
A Houston man has been arrested after being accused by authorities of trying to damage or destroy a Confederate statue at a Houston park with explosives.
Federal prosecutors said Monday 25-year-old Andrew Schneck had been charged with attempting to maliciously damage or destroy property receiving federal financial assistance.
Authorities say a Houston park ranger on Saturday caught Schneck kneeling near a statue of Richard Dowling, a lieutenant in the Confederate army, located in Hermann Park.
Prosecutors say Schneck was caught with two boxes with duct tape and wires and with a bottle containing a liquid made up of compounds used as explosives.
Philip Hilder, Schneck’s attorney, declined to comment on Monday.
Schneck received five years of probation after pleading guilty in 2014 to improperly storing explosive materials.
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