South Florida man indicted for bringing guns, including ‘booby-trapped rifle,’ on train: NJ AG

TRENTON, N.J. – A South Florida antheral has been indicted successful New Jersey aft bringing a trove of weapons aboard an Amtrak bid earlier this year, that state’s lawyer wide announced connected Wednesday.

Jeffrey O. Kennerk, 34, of Fort Lauderdale, is facing a bevy of weapons-related charges successful the Garden State.

Authorities said Kennerk came to instrumentality enforcement’s attraction connected Jan. 3 erstwhile a New Jersey Transit Police Department serviceman spotted an “unattended achromatic and achromatic zebra people suitcase” successful beforehand of a McDonald’s astatine Newark Penn Station.

Police searched the container and “found a Glock handgun case” containing “a Girsan Regard MC handgun with a afloat loaded 18-round magazine,” a quality merchandise states

It besides contained an AR-style mag and respective boxes of ammunition, and a achromatic AK-47 with “one circular loaded successful the enclosure and aggregate loaded magazines,” authorities said.

Authorities said surveillance video showed Kennerk getting connected a bid bound for Virginia.

Police said they stopped and boarded the bid successful Trenton, New Jersey and questioned Kennerk, who “showed the officers a valid Amtrak summons for a antithetic bid and said helium had boarded the incorrect train.”

“Before that bid arrived, the officers successful Trenton were notified astir a idiosyncratic of involvement wanted for weapons possession successful Newark and saw Kennerk astir to committee different Amtrak train,” the merchandise states. “Before helium could committee the train, Kennerk was arrested.”

After taking him into custody, authorities said they recovered an AR-15 firearm and aggregate magazines and rounds of ammunition successful a container helium brought aboard the train, on with respective handguns.

“While removing that firearm from the suitcase, aggregate handkerchiefs were observed wrapped astir the trigger guard,” the quality merchandise states. “The serviceman placed the muzzle into the suitcase pointed astatine the crushed and attempted to region 1 of the handkerchiefs to render it safe, astatine which clip the firearm discharged without the serviceman engaging the trigger, indicating that the weapon was allegedly booby-trapped.”

In the release, the caput of the New Jersey State Police said that “officers averted a tragedy.”

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said, “If not for the outstanding constabulary enactment done successful this matter, we tin lone ideate wherever this suspect and these weapons would person ended up.”

Authorities haven’t said whether they’ve determined what Kennerk intended to bash with the guns and ammunition.

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