Domestic Disturbance In DeBary Leads To Discovery Of Explosive Materials; 1 Arrested

Date Added: November 13, 2017 5:55 am

Andrew Gant
Office of Public Affairs & Media Relations

Note: For Sheriff Chitwood's media briefing on the scene, click here: https://www.clickorlando.com/news/bomb-squad-sent-to-debary-home-following-domestic-disturbance-officials-say

DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE IN DEBARY LEADS TO DISCOVERY OF EXPLOSIVE MATERIALS; 1 ARRESTED

A domestic disturbance that started Sunday afternoon in a DeBary home led to the discovery of an array of potentially explosive devices and substances, prompting a bomb squad response that lasted through the night and into Monday morning.

Volusia County sheriff’s deputies, detectives, Hazmat units from Volusia County and Deltona fire departments and members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were still on scene at 5:30 a.m. Monday, more than 13 hours after the initial disturbance call at 124 Bradwick Circle led responding deputies to find a grenade in the back yard.

Deputies arrived there around 4:11 p.m. Sunday in response to an argument between a 31-year-old Christopher S. Langer (2/4/1986) and his parents. During the argument, an intoxicated Langer told his parents he had put an explosive substance inside a grenade.

Langer initially denied the grenade existed when a responding deputy asked him about it. But then he acknowledged he had thrown it outside, and he offered to show the deputy where it was. Upon searching the area, the deputy found a metal pineapple-style grenade with a paperclip in place to hold the lever and keep it from exploding.

Deputies evacuated the house and began an investigation that continues at this time. A search warrant resulted in the discovery of an estimated 200 containers inside the house containing unknown powders, acids and other materials. Many of them (about 79 as of this writing) have been placed into a containment area, and many have been determined not to be bomb-making materials but bodily fluids.

A bomb robot used to examine a hole in the back yard discovered a small explosive device, and a second possible explosive device was found in a lunchbox.

Some neighboring homes in the area were evacuated in the initial stages of the call, but those residents returned to their homes Sunday evening.

Langer has been charged with making/possessing a destructive device and was transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail, where he was being held Sunday morning on $5,000 bail. (Note: that bail was later revoked by a judge.) Additional charges are possible pending the outcome of the investigation, and the scene is expected to remain active for several more hours.