Liberty U student plotted to set off explosives, police say

Story Highlights

• Mark David Uhl's intended target is unknown
• ABC News reporting his goal: Ensure protesters don't disrupt Falwell funeral
• Uhl's family members called police, said he mentioned explosives
• Authorities found six explosive devices in 19-year-old Uhl's car

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LYNCHBURG, Virginia (CNN) -- A first-year Liberty University student was arrested in what police said was a plot to detonate explosive devices Tuesday, the day of the Rev. Jerry Falwell's funeral.

Mark David Uhl's intended target is unknown, authorities said.

ABC News reported the youth told authorities he had made the bombs -- which were found in his car -- to stop protesters from disrupting Falwell's funeral. (Read the story about Falwell's funeral)

Police received a call about 11 p.m. Monday from one of Uhl's family members, who said they had talked with him and he had "mentioned some explosive devices he had made," said Maj. Steve Hutcherson of the Campbell County, Virginia, sheriff's office.

Authorities found in Uhl's vehicle "what appeared to be about six explosive devices" that had detonation devices with them, Hutcherson said. The homemade devices were canisters with some kind of liquid inside.

A Virginia State Police bomb squad was summoned to ensure the items were safe, he said.

Uhl, 19, from Amissville, Virginia, was arrested at the home of one of his friends in Campbell County, near Lynchburg, Hutcherson said.

He was being held without bond in the Campbell County Adult Detention Center on suspicion of manufacturing explosive devices.

"Anytime you have somebody with what appears to be explosive devices, you have to take that threat seriously," Hutcherson said.