Brother, Sister Charged After Device Found at Florida Base

A man who fled to China and his sister have been charged after an explosive device was left outside a gate at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa this month. Alen Zheng, 20, and Ann Mary Zheng, 27, were charged Wednesday in separate federal indictments, reports the AP. The sister is in custody, while the brother remains in China, according to a social media post by FBI director Kash Patel.

Alen Zheng is charged with attempting to damage government property, unlawfully making a destructive device, and possessing an unregistered destructive device. The indictment specifically mentions the package found at MacDill; it was reportedly left near the visitors center. Ann Mary Zheng is charged with being an accessory after the fact and evidence tampering related to alleged efforts to "destroy, mutilate, and conceal a 2010 black Mercedes GLK 350," as ABC News puts it.

A suspicious package was found outside MacDill on March 16, prompting the FBI to investigate. The US Central Command is located at MacDill and is responsible for US military operations in the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of South Asia. MacDill is one of the US bases that has been on heightened alert since the war in Iran began. Another man was arrested earlier this week on charges of making threatening phone calls to the base days after the device was discovered, though investigators haven't accused that caller of planting any devices. There was no immediate connection between the caller and the Zhengs.