UNC Police confirmed on Monday that the suspect in connection with a detonation of a small device on the Chapel Hill campus last week will be charged with multiple felonies.

Joshua Daniel Edwards, a former UNC student, has been charged with malicious use of explosives to inflict injury, malicious use of explosives to damage property, assembling a weapon of mass destruction, setting fire to grass/grassland, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and filing a false police report. All of the charges are felonies.

Edwards was taken into custody for a mental evaluation last Thursday immediately after the incident and has not been formally arrested as of last update.

Edwards is accused of starting a fire at the base of the famous Davie Poplar tree on the UNC campus. A UNC professor then tried to stamp out the fire when a small explosion occurred. The professor was receiving treatment at UNC Hospitals for burns sustained in the explosion.

UNC Police then alerted Carrboro Police that Edwards’ vehicle was parked in Carrboro and may contain other dangerous material. After further investigation, including assistance for the Durham County Sheriff’s Office bomb squad, no further danger was found.

Arrests warrants have been filed but no further information was immediately available. Edwards’ court date will be known once he is formally charged following his arrest.

The professor hurt by the blaze – Dan Reichart – has undergone surgery and has now established a fundraising campaign hoping to raise money for cancer awareness and prevention.

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