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Police retrieved various weapons from Goldstein's home
Authorities
in America say a doctor arrested after police found explosives
at his Florida home planned to blow up mosques and an Islamic
education centre.
Investigators
recovered dozens of weapons and explosive devices at a house in
St Petersburg belonging to 37-year-old chiropodist Robert Goldstein.
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He knew his stuff. It was just like a James Bond thing
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Detective Cal Dennie |
They also found
details of intended targets.
Mr Goldstein
was taken into custody and charged with possessing a non-registered
destructive device and attempting to use an explosive to destroy
Islamic institutions.
Police say Mr
Goldstein planned to conceal the explosives in video cassettes
and walkie-talkies.
"He was
just a smart guy," said Detective Cal Dennie. "He knew
his stuff. It was just like a James Bond thing."
House booby-trapped
Police were
called to Mr Goldstein's home by his mother, who said her son
was going through marital problems.
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Police have not given Goldstein's alleged motives |
There they found
up to 40 weapons and 30 explosives, including hand grenades and
a five-gallon (19 litre) gasoline bomb with a timer attached.
The house was
also booby-trapped and rigged with surveillance cameras.
"If one
of those bombs had were to have gone off, that townhouse would
have been destroyed," said Carlos Baixauli, from the Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms agency.
Residents were
evacuated from complex overnight while police made the area safe.
Detailed instructions
Police also
found at the house a list of about 50 Islamic centres in Florida
and plans to use the explosives.
Court documents
detail an outline for an attack as reading: "Set timers for
approximately 15-20 minutes to allow for enough time to get out
of area, but to confirm explosives has (sic) been successful.
"The amount
of explosives should be ample to take down the building (s)."
The court papers
say plans included details of what Mr Goldstein would wear, how
he would remove fingerprints and how he would engage in hand-to-hand
combat if he was tackled.
The documents
say there were also traces of the name of an accomplice, named
as Val, which had been written over with name Mike.
Police have
not given a motive for the planned attacks.
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