Twin brothers arrested for terror plot and using children to help make the bombs.

Christian Toro (left) and his brother Tyler Toro were both arrested on terror charges. Facebook capture. 

Twin brothers have been arrested in New York on terror charges after they were discovered using children to help make bombs. Fox News/AP. Christian and Tyler Toro were arrested on terror plots and allegedly hired two children to dismantle fireworks at $50 an hour. Toro was a teacher and the children were students. The case grew out of a threat made to the school last December. 30 pounds of chemicals, bomb making instructions and a diary written by Tyler  threatening attacks were also found. Christian allegedly wrote a note that said “Under the full moon the small ones will know terror.” Christian Toro has also been arrested for statutory rape for having sex with a minor. 

Thanks to the brave men and women of the NYPD and FBI, we can report tonight that a possible terror attack has been foiled. They have done extraordinary work and, in this case, have likely saved many, many lives.

— Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) February 16, 2018

From what we know at this point, the individuals involved have all been apprehended. There is no additional threat to New York City at this time.

Once again, we are going to go forward tomorrow with that spirit of resiliency for which New Yorkers are famous.

— Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) February 16, 2018

My Comment:
Good on everyone involved for stopping this before it could happen. We have all seen what can happen when people don't speak up or when law enforcement lets someone slip through the cracks. Unlike what happened in Florida, this case was stopped before any lives were lost. We should all be thankful for that.

This plot was fairly disgusting. Not only would it have targeted children, it used children as bomb-makers. Plus Christian was a teacher who was apparently plotting to kill his charges. There isn't much lower than that. Using children as bomb makers puts them at risk and makes them unwitting accomplices in murder. Imagine how badly these kids would feel if they found out that their efforts were used to kill their classmates, assuming that they were going to be spared themselves. Of course since Christian was apparently the kind of guy that would have sex with a child, he probably didn't care at all. This kind of thing is certainly horrible but it is becoming even more common...

It seems likely that if the police and FBI hadn't disrupted this plot, it would have gone off. That doesn't necessarily mean people would have died, we have all seen idiot terrorists fail at plots, but there was a great risk of death and destruction. Getting the supplies is the most difficult part of building a bomb and they already had that part covered. Making a bomb that works is a bit harder but they could have done a few dry runs before they tried it so they could perfect their designs.

There hasn't been anything released about the motive of these men. They look to me that they could be middle eastern but even if that's true that doesn't necessarily mean that this was an ISIS or al-Qaeda inspired plot. It could very well be just a lone nut like the guy in Florida. It might have been a guy that just really hated the kids that he had to teach. Any of these are possible at this point.

I will say that the method of attack really resembles a plot inspired by Islamic terrorism, even if they aren't middle eastern. ISIS and other Islamic terrorists have long advocated using pressure cooker bombs using fireworks as the explosive and it seems like the Toro brothers had bomb making instructions, which are usually found on radical Islamic websites.

Generally speaking, bombings are a lot more likely to be politically motivated. I've mentioned before that these kinds of attacks are basically memes. The lone loser who's mad about not getting laid shoots up a school. A guy planting bombs is sending a different message and that one is "I'm an Islamic terrorist". That being said, without evidence that this is an Islamic terror plot, this is all speculation.

I will say that some of this story doesn't make sense. Why on earth would the Toro brothers threaten the very school they were plotting to attack? That just draws attention to their plot and could blow the whole thing, which it seems to have done so. If they did do this than they are very stupid terrorists and those are the best kind. It's also possible that someone else made the threat and the police just got lucky by discovering this plot.

It's not often that I agree with New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio but I do think he is right with his comments about doing something if you see someone acting strangely. We need to take threats seriously and report them when they come. Even if it means people call you a racist. Better to be called a racist than let a bombing or mass shooting happen. We can't afford political correctness when it comes to these kinds of thing. What color of skin someone has or what religion they follow shouldn't matter but what they are planning absolutely does.