Who is man arrested over bomb chemicals

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (WIVB) - Amherst Police say 25-year-old Duncan Badding is suspected of turning chemicals into potential explosives.

So who is Duncan Badding? News 4 worked Thursday night to learn more about the young man arrested on Wednesday, but we were unable to contact his family, and his Facebook page has been taken down. However, we've discovered he does have a prior record, and a reputation, with some of his neighbors.

Badding is charged with felony reckless endangerment, and criminal possession of a weapon, after Amherst Police discovered a cache of chemicals in his Williamsville apartment. Wednesday afternoon, police responded to calls about Badding shooting a .22-caliber rifle out his back door, at bottles. But the weapons charge stems from something else Badding has, something other than his guns.

Amherst Police Asst. Chief Charles Cohen said, "Homemade explosive material, and a lot of chemicals that would be used in processing those.:

When police entered Badding's apartment, they found chemicals in literally every room. At that point, they backed out, just as a precaution, and sent in the Erie County Bomb Squad's robot.

"Based on what I've seen and heard, you would characterize it almost as meth lab remediation. Chemicals everywhere; we weren't really sure what we were dealing with. So you just have the best practices to slow everything down, call in the experts, and take your time," said Asst. Chief Cohen.

Thursday, Badding told Judge Mark Farrell he studied chemistry in college, liked experimenting with things, and that he meant no harm. A friend later echoed Badding's words on Facebook, writing, "He liked being a chemist... he had no plans to attack anyone... he just liked to blow stuff up in his backyard."

Neighbor Chris Kowalski said, "He seemed like a normal person. Never really... I've never talked to him."

And neighbor Tyler Schmitt said, "Over the past couple months, we know that he has been firing off M-80s from his house. He blows blow darts into a tree, very sharp blow darts."

Badding's only prior record is a 2008 suspicious person complaint. Judge Farrell has ordered Badding to undergo a mental evaluation.

Assistant Chief Cohen wouldn't say a lot about the chemicals Badding had, other than that they are, what he called, "lab-grade."

"The problem with a lot of these things is, until you mix them with other things, there's nothing inherently illegal about possessing them," he explained.

Depending on what the evidence tells investigators, more charges may be pending. Badding is being held at the Holding Center without bail.