Man Detonated Bomb At Lake: Morris Co. Prosecutor

LANDING, NJ — A Landing man is accused of detonating a homemade bomb at a North Jersey lake, officials said.

Christopher Faschan, 31, of the Landing section of Roxbury, was arrested earlier this week following an explosion, prosecutors from Sussex and Morris County said in a joint statement.

Faschan is accused of driving to a woman's home and showing her a homemade explosive device that he called a bomb; he told the woman it was the kind of explosive "you could stick to the bottom of the car," Sussex County Prosecutor Francis Koch said.

After the woman left, Faschan drove to Lake Lackawanna and exploded the device, Koch said. It was not clear if the bomb was detonated in or near the lake. The woman he showed the bomb to, as well as the Lake Lackawanna community, heard the explosion, Koch said.

Roxbury and Mount Olive police assisted the prosecutor's offices, Morris County Sheriff, and Byram police in investigating. Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon said the area around the lake is safe.

Faschan was arrested following a two-day investigation, Koch said, and faces several charges: possession of an explosive device with the purpose to use it unlawfully, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, and possession of an explosive device.

He remains in the Keogh-Dwyer Correctional Facility in Newtown pending an upcoming hearing.

Image via Keogh-Dwyer Correctional Facility