Three unidentified students from George Mason University were arrested by the campus police after bomb-making materials were found in their dorm, according to the Associated Press. The police responded to flames coming out of the window last Wednesday night, but court documents on the incident were just unsealed on Monday. Matchbooks, a “leafy green substance,” mortar and pestle, shaved match heads, lighter fluid, a PVC pipe and hand sanitizer candles were all found in the dorm, the AP reports.
Two of the students were arrested for drug and alcohol related charges, and the other for the possession of bomb-making materials.
We’d like to give these students the benefit of the doubt and think this was just some kind of project for Chemistry class, but when these materials are combined, investigators say that they can make some pretty heavy-duty explosives.
GMU Interim Police Chief Thomas Longo told USA Today College in a statement that “there is no immediate threat to the campus community and the investigation is ongoing.”
Our society is in a period of tension; terrorism seems to be on the rise, and our government is always on the lookout for potential extremists in the United States. Police and investigators are taking every potential threat seriously. We can only hope that these students weren’t planning an attack.