Bomb Hoax Arrest Made

TEMPLE TERRACE, FL — A 26-year-old Tampa man faces felony charges in connection with a June bomb hoax in Temple Terrace.

The incident that led to Usman S. Khan's Thursday arrest occurred on June 22, Temple Terrace Police say. According to the agency, officers were called to the Temple Terrace Masonic Lodge, 11807 N. 56th St., around 11:30 a.m. after a suspicious package was found.

“Upon arrival, officers observed a package containing what appeared to be an explosive device,” an email from the police department said. The Tampa Bomb Squad was called out and determined the package did not contain a bomb, the email noted.

While the bomb was hoax, police and the FBI worked together to locate a suspect in the case, the email said. They did not elaborate on how they connected Khan to the hoax.

Khan was taken into custody at his home on Oaktree Court, police said. He had not yet been booked into the Hillsborough County Jail Thursday afternoon. Jail records indicate Khan was arrested in 2012 on a DUI charge, but has no other arrests in the county.

Khan faces a second-degree felony charge of planting a hoax bomb, police said.

Photo courtesy of the Temple Terrace Police Department