MYSTERIOUS

Prosecutors: Florida Veteran Planted Bomb at VA Hospital

The Army vet is charged with possession of unregistered explosive devices after the FBI alleges he left an IED at a Florida Veterans Affairs hospital.

A Florida Army veteran is accused of planting an improvised explosive device (IED) at a Veterans Affairs hospital last month, federal authorities said Wednesday. Mark Edward Allen, 60, is charged with possession of unregistered explosive devices after allegedly leaving an IED at a Veterans Affairs hospital near St. Petersburg on May 29, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. Prosecutors also said two days after the hospital IED was found, and rendered safe, another IED was discovered in Allen’s home by his wife. She called the authorities to report the homemade bomb after loading the device into her car and bringing it to a friend’s house “because she was scared,” according to the complaint. Allen is currently being held at the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. If convicted, the veteran faces up to 10 years in prison.