What to Know
- A Brooklyn man was arrested after police allegedly found a hoax bomb and bomb-making materials at his Brooklyn apartment
- Christopher Hackett is a builder and contestant on a "Mythbusters" spin-off, which hints at why he may have allegedly had the materials
- He and other artists and designers work to "build an array of whacky and innovative contraptions," the Science Channel website says
A Brooklyn artist and builder was arrested Thursday after officers found a hoax bomb device and other bomb-making materials in his apartment, police said.
Christopher Hackett, 44, of Brooklyn, was arrested after the NYPD allegedly discovered potential bomb-making materials, a handgun, an airgun, and other weapons in his Butler Street home.
The NYPD was in the process of investigating another crime when officers came across some suspicious items outside of Hackett’s residence and upon entering the home found a gun in plain view, police said.
Police are charging Hackett, a writer and adjunct professor at New York University, with three counts of criminal possession of a weapon and other offenses.
Hackett is currently competing on a Science Channel series, “Mythbusters: The Search.” The show features “the next generation of fearless contenders with killer build skills, science smarts and nerves of steel,” the Science Channel website says.
The “Mythbusters” series featured “2,950 experiments, 910 explosions and 83 miles of duct tape,” according to the Science Channel site.
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Hackett’s participation on the show and his bio description as an “artist and builder who likes his projects to be unconventional” appear to explain why he allegedly had the hoax bomb device and other materials.
“He works with a group of Brooklyn builders, artists, and designers to build an array of whacky and innovative contraptions,” the site says.
