Monday, August 18, 1997
Students arrested in bomb plot against fellow student
CRIME:
Bomb equipment found in dorm room of two Berkeley sophomoresBy
Anand Patel
Daily Bruin Contributor
Two sophomores at UC Berkeley were arrested after allegedly
planning to use a homemade bomb to settle a grudge with a fellow
student.
Terence Tam and Ben Kuo, both 18, were arrested last Saturday
after UC Berkeley Police found several bomb-making components in
their room at Berkeley’s International House. The two students are
suspected of plotting to create explosives.
Police went to their room after receiving a tip that Tam was
seen stealing dry ice from the university’s chemistry department.
Dry ice and glass bottles can be used to make certain types of
homemade bombs.
"They had nothing that was dangerous assembled, but what could
be made could have been destructive," said Captain Pat Carroll of
the UC Berkeley police.
Several homemade bomb-making components were found in the
student’s room. The items included empty soft drink bottles, black
powder, shotgun shells, a video of Tam and Kuo making the bombs,
and some notes.
"It hadn’t been put together when we found it," said Carroll.
"There were no destructive devices, but there were materials that
could have assembled one. That, coupled with the dry ice and
statements made by (Tam and Kuo), led us to the conclusion of the
students’ intent."
Tam and Kuo told police that they only wanted to use the bomb to
scare a fellow student. The three developed a grudge last year when
they were classmates at the same high school in Los Angeles.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the grudge arose when
the intended victim out-performed them in a 1996 high school
science fair.
Tam and Kuo were both charged with possession of destructive
materials, and Tam is also charged with burglary. Both were
released on their own recognizance, and reportedly went to Los
Angeles to live with their parents.
"They are charged with felonies that could send them to prison,
but I don’t expect that to happen," said Carroll. "As far as the UC
administration goes, I am not sure about what they’ll do, but I
know that they are going over the issue."
"My main concern is one bomb leads to the next bomb, pretty soon
they’re not happy with the explosion from this one and they get
into something that’s potentially lethal for a lot of people,"
Carroll continued.
A pretrial hearing was set for Aug. 28.
With reports from Daily Bruin wire services.