Miami, Jul 28 (EFE).– A 23-year-old Hispanic was arrested and charged with preparing to detonate a bomb on a beach in Key West by remote control, the FBI announced Tuesday.

The bureau said that Harlem Suarez, who declared himself to be a member of the Islamic State terrorist organization, was charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with intending to use a weapon of mass destruction.

Suarez, who said he called himself “Almlak Benitez,” was arrested on Monday, according to the FBI, which has been monitoring him since April when it detected extremist posts on his Facebook page in which he was praising the IS.

According to the charges, the accused told an undercover source that he wanted to make a “bomb.”

Authorities said that Suarez bought nails and other items necessary for building a shrapnel bomb that he was intending to hide in a backpack and detonate using a cellphone.

Suarez was arrested as he was receiving bombmaking materials from the FBI informant.

He is being held without bail and a detention hearing has been set for next week.

“There is no room for failure when it comes to investigating the potential use of a weapon of mass destruction,” and all alleged threats had to be taken seriously, said Miami’s FBI special agent in charge, George Piro. EFE