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| Canadian Teen bomb suspect in PA hates the U.S. |
| 2005-06-07 |
| The 17-year-old Bucks County boy charged with having bomb-making equipment in his bedroom and threatening to blow up his school is a Canadian who hates Americans, prosecutors say. Travis W. Biehn was ordered held at the county juvenile detention center Friday after Judge Kenneth G. Biehn — no relation — ruled the boy remains a danger to the community. ''He had the explosives in his home and the parents didn't know about it,'' said Assistant District Attorney Robert D. James, who is prosecuting the boy. ''We don't want to send that kid back home.'' Meanwhile, in a second sweep of Central Bucks East High School in Buckingham Township, where Travis Biehn is an 11th-grader and classes were canceled Friday, police using nine bomb-sniffing dogs turned up no explosives, James said. District Attorney Diane E. Gibbons said police are trying to determine the boy's motive but added, ''He is very unhappy with Americans and would prefer to be in Canada.'' Gibbons said Biehn's family has resided in Buckingham Township since 1999 and that the boy's father, Brant, is an employee of drug manufacturer Merck & Co. The Biehns are living here on a resident visa, she said. After a juvenile court procedure similar to an arraignment, Judge Biehn declined to release the boy to the custody of his parents. a judge with some sense, it would seem Instead, he will be held at the county Youth Center in Doylestown Township at least until a hearing is held on the charges, which include possession of explosive devices and terroristic threats. No date has been set for the hearing, but under law it must be held within 10 days. According to Gibbons, the incident started unfolding May 27 when Travis Biehn scrawled a bomb threat on a bathroom wall in the school, then called a teacher's attention to the threat. ''One of the reasons for a bomb threat is to make it public,'' said Gibbons. ''It doesn't surprise me that he called attention to the threat. One of the reasons people do this is to create fear.'' The threat was reported to the school administration that day, schools Superintendent Robert Laws said, but he did not learn about it until Tuesday morning — the day after the school reopened after the three-day Memorial Day weekend. Laws said that when he learned of the threat, he asked students at Central Bucks East to provide information on who might be responsible. After school ended Tuesday, Laws said, two students stepped forward and told authorities Biehn had bragged to them that he knew how to make bombs and planned to use them. Police searched the boy's home Wednesday and made their first search of the school grounds that night. No bombs were found at the school, and classes opened as usual Thursday. Biehn was arrested Thursday. Later that day, a second bomb threat was found at the school. ''There was a second threat found at the school on a bathroom wall. It said, 'You've got my buddy. The school will blow up on June 3,''' said James. ''There have been bomb threats at schools before. Why this is unique is that in conjunction with an anonymous bomb threat, we find a kid with bomb-making materials in his home. Then, after we find the materials, there is another bomb threat.'' Gibbons said police do not believe the second threat was made by an accomplice of Biehn's, but rather by someone playing a hoax. Still, she said, authorities decided to search the school a second time. That search was done late Thursday and early Friday. ''It seems likely we have a copycat or somebody who did this as a hoax,'' said the district attorney. ''We still want to find out whether [Biehn] has a grudge or any associates to see if they would want to blow up a building.'' Gibbons said Biehn created a Web page on which he posted photos of bomb-making materials displayed in his bedroom. The Biehns reside at 3395 Gail Circle in Buckingham. During the search of the boy's home, Gibbons said, investigators found between 8 and 10 pounds of potassium nitrate as well as fuses and several small, empty canisters. Gibbons said Biehn had enough explosive material to level his own home, but if he planned to use one of the canisters to house the bomb, the resulting explosion would have been relatively minor. Still, she said, ''He was serious. He had everything he needed to make a bomb. It's not a complicated process. If he had used the complete contents of what he had, it would have been a major explosion. He would have leveled the house.'' Gibbons said police found Biehn's parents to be uncooperative during the search. Gibbons said she could not provide the first name of the boy's mother, but the woman harassed investigators as they searched the house. ''The mother was verbally interfering with the police officers. She said her son should not cooperate. The father was also not cooperative,'' the district attorney said. Travis Biehn was represented by Doylestown attorney William L. Goldman Jr. at the ''intake hearing,'' or arraignment. Goldman did not return phone calls seeking comment. deport the whole family. now. During the arraignment, Travis Biehn wore a T-shirt that read, ''Proud to be a Canadian.'' Laws, the schools superintendent, said he understands the boy has made anti-American remarks to other students.''I've heard him described as bright, articulate, computer-savvy and a loner.'' He said Biehn was suspended from school in April for misusing a school computer, possibly to hack into Web sites. Potassium nitrate is commonly used as a fertilizer, but it has incendiary capabilities and can be employed to make a homemade bomb. Gibbons said quantities of the material were found behind a door in the boy's room that leads to an attic crawl space. The chemicals were contained in FedEx boxes that had been addressed to Biehn, but there was no evidence in the boxes indicating where he obtained the chemicals. Gibbons speculated that the boy purchased the materials on the Internet. Gibbons said it appears that some of the potassium nitrate and other materials are missing from the containers. Gibbons said police are searching for the missing materials, but she suggested that Biehn made a test bomb and may have set it off in a remote location. ''It could have been that he was practicing and that he went into an isolated area and set it off,'' she said. Gibbons said it may be possible to prosecute Biehn as an adult. It will be up to the judge to decide whether the seriousness of the offense merits trial in adult criminal court, she said. If Travis Biehn is found guilty in juvenile court, Gibbons said, he could remain under the jurisdiction of juvenile authorities until he turns 21. Laws said Central Bucks East would reopen today for about 700 students taking the SAT, and on Monday for all 1,500 students to return to classes. |
| Posted by:too true |
| #7 Canadian groups calling for the U.S to FREE TRAVIS from the AMERICAN GULAG in 5..4..3..2..1... |
| Posted by: Carl in N.H. 2005-06-07 16:31 |
| #6 Raised a TRANZI I am sure. Screw teh little rat. I hope he enjoys anal sex and the resulting AIDS he will have in prison. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom 2005-06-07 16:15 |
| #5 TW is correct. Once the spotlight's off, so's Dad's job. Nice work, son |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-06-07 15:51 |
| #4 Daddy |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-06-07 14:36 |
| #3 Sounds like the lil anklebiter wasn't quite as bright and intelligent as advertised. Did the parents pick out the attire for arraignment? Screw em all I say. Prosecute the anklebiter to the fullest degree and deport the parents. Leave the Merck job for an American. Kick both of the phukin idiot parents in the butt to get them that last inch over the border but not before checking the fedex and credit card info to see if they can't also be charged as conspirators. |
| Posted by: Tkat 2005-06-07 14:25 |
| #2 The 17-year-old Bucks County boy charged with having bomb-making equipment in his bedroom and threatening to blow up his school is a Canadian who hates Americans, prosecutors say. So why in the hell is he here? Take him to Niagara Falls and give him a swift and hard kick in the ass into the river and make him swim back home. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-06-07 14:24 |
| #1 Prosecute him as an adult, toss his American-hating carcass in an American prison, and ship his worthless parents back home. You don't have to love us to live here; neutrality will do just fine. Hate us? Then why are you here? Hate America and Americans? THEN LEAVE ALREADY! GTFO! |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2005-06-07 14:03 |