Two people charged with attempted bombing near Centcom headquarters

A Florida man charged with planting a bomb near the U.S. military’s Central Command has fled to China and his sister is under arrest in the plot, according to federal prosecutors.

Alen Zheng, 20, was charged in an unsealed indictment disclosed Thursday with planting an improvised explosive device at the MacDill Air Force Base visitors center.

MacDill, located near Tampa, Florida, hosts the Central Command headquarters that is the nerve center for the current large-scale military operations against Iran.

“MacDill Air Force Base is the headquarters for the Central Command, Special Operations Command and the Air Mobility Command of the United States Air Force — extremely, extremely important assets for the Department of War that are obviously involved in ongoing operations in the Middle East and elsewhere,” U.S. Attorney Gregory Kehoe told reporters at a news conference.

The device did not detonate, but “could have potentially been very deadly,” Mr. Kehoe said.

A bomb threat was called in shortly after the device was placed on March 10, but no device was found on the base after a search, Mr. Kehoe said, adding that the phone call was later linked by investigators to a phone purchased by Mr. Zheng.

The explosive device was not discovered until March 16, and investigators quickly were able to trace it to Mr. Zheng through a phone purchased by him at a nearby Best Buy, Mr. Kehoe said.

A search by investigators of Mr. Zheng’s home uncovered explosive device components, he said.

The indictment states Mr. Zheng is charged with attempting to damage or destroy the visitors center with an improvised explosive device on March 10.

Ann Mary Zheng, 27, Mr. Zheng’s sister, was charged in a separate indictment with being an accessory to the alleged crime, and for alleged evidence tampering for attempting to hide from investigators a 2010 Mercedes that authorities say was used to deliver the device to the visitors center.

No other details were disclosed in the court papers.

FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that Mr. Zheng had fled to China.

“A brother and sister have now been indicted,” he said. “One is in custody for accessory and evidence tampering and the primary suspect is charged with explosives offenses and is currently in China.”

Mr. Patel praised FBI and local law enforcement for investigating the case.

“No one who targets our brave service members and military facilities will ever get away with it — and this FBI will pursue all those responsible for the incident at MacDill Air Force Base to the ends of the earth,” he stated.

Mr. Kehoe said the siblings traveled by commercial aircraft to China on March 12 and that the sister was arrested after returning from China. Both have U.S. citizenship and live in a Tampa suburb.

Mr. Kehoe said he does not know if the two people have dual U.S.-Chinese citizenship.

Prosecutors are attempting to have Mr. Zheng sent back to the U.S.

“We’re exploring every avenue we have to get him back to the United States,” he said.

So far there is no indication of Chinese government involvement in the attempted bombing.

China is a strategic ally of Iran and has supplied weapons and technology to Tehran.

Mr. Kehoe also said the mother of the two siblings, who was not identified by name, has been detained for overstaying her visa. She and Ms. Zheng told investigators that Mr. Zheng admitted he planted the device at MacDill, Mr. Kehoe said.

If convicted, Mr. Zheng faces 40 years in prison for attempting to damage government property and unlawfully making and possessing the explosive device. Ms. Zheng could be imprisoned for 30 years if found guilty of witness tampering and being an accessory after the fact to the crime for allegedly selling the car used to drop off the homemade bomb, Mr. Kehoe said.