File - The U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base is seen, Feb. 6, 2017, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

By The Canadian Press

Brother and sister are charged after an explosive device was found outside a Florida Air Force base

Mar 26, 2026 | 11:07 AM

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A man who fled to China and his sister have been charged after an explosive device was left outside a gate at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa this month.

Alen Zheng, 20, and Ann Mary Zheng, 27, were charged Wednesday in separate federal indictments. The sister is in custody, while the brother has fled, according to a social media post by FBI director Kash Patel.

Alen Zheng is charged with of attempting to damage government property, unlawfully making a destructive device and possessing an unregistered destructive device. The indictment specifically mentions the package found at MacDill.

Ann Mary Zheng is charged with witness tampering and being an accessory after the fact in Alan Zheng’s case.

Online court records didn’t list an attorney for either person.

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A suspicious package was found outside MacDill on March 16, prompting the FBI to investigate. The U.S. Central Command is located at MacDill and is responsible for U.S. military operations in the Middle East, Central Asia and parts of South Asia. MacDill is one of the U.S. bases that has been on heightened alert since the war in Iran began.

Another man was arrested earlier this week on charges of making threatening phone calls to the base days after the device was discovered, though investigators haven’t accused that caller of planting any devices. There was no immediate connection between the caller and the Zhengs.

David Fischer, The Associated Press