Ex-teacher from the Bronx, brother accused of making bombs in apartment

<p>A former teacher from the Bronx and his brother have been arrested for allegedly making bombs in their apartment.</p>

News 12 Staff

Feb 16, 2018, 3:24 AM

Updated 2,270 days ago

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A former teacher from the Bronx and his brother have been arrested for allegedly making bombs in their apartment, and prosecutors say one of them was paying students to help.
Prosecutors say twin brothers Christian and Tyler Toro had been under investigation by the FBI since October 2017. They say the two had been storing materials to make explosives in the fourth-floor apartment of their 2121 Matthews Ave. building in the Pelham Parkway neighborhood. They had lived there with their mother for more than a decade.
Officials announced that during Thursday morning's search, they found bomb-making materials that included powders and metal balls, a diary and other notes inside their unit.
The investigation began when bomb-making instructions were allegedly found on a laptop that had been issued to Christian Toro, who was a teacher at the Harlem Charter School. The computer was turned back in when he resigned. That happened around the same time that a bomb threat was called into the school on Dec. 4, as Christian Toro also faced rape charges.
The official criminal complaint obtained by News 12 shows that Christian Toro is also accused of paying at least two students $50 an hour to break fireworks and store in containers the powder that came out of them.
News 12 knocked on the brothers' apartment door Thursday night but got no response.
Both brothers are charged with unlawful manufacturing of an explosive device. Christian Toro is also charged with distributing explosives to a person under age 21.


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