A 23-year-old man accidentally blew his hands off after planning an incel attack on a shopping mall, say FBI

• A 23-year-old man from Virginia accidentally blew his hand off with explosives after he was arrested for planning a bomb attack on "hot cheerleaders" in a shopping mall, according to an FBI affidavit.
• Cole Carini walked into a medical clinic with a missing hand, and several shrapnel wounds to his neck, claiming he obtained his injuries from a lawnmower accident.
• But after searching his home, FBI agents found multiple explosive chemicals and a box of rusty nails, among other items that could be used to make a bomb.
• Officials also found a letter, in which Carini describes how a suicide bomber walks through a shopping mall to target a "stage of hot cheerleaders."
• In the letter, Carini also compares himself to Elliott Rodgers, who killed six people in Isla Vista, California in 2014, leaving behind an "incel" manifesto that said he wanted to punish women for rejecting him.
• Incels are a community of misogynist "involuntary celibates," who degrade women and hate men they believe are more attractive than them.

A 23-old-man from Virginia who appeared to be planning a bomb attack on "hot cheerleaders" in a shopping mall accidentally blew his hand off with explosives, according to an FBI affidavit.

Cole Carini walked into a medical center in Richlands, Virginia on June 2 with one hand missing, several fingers amputated, and shrapnel wounds to his neck, claiming he had obtained his injuries from a lawnmower accident.

In a criminal complaint, authorities wrote: "When asked if he remembered what happened to put him in hospital, Carini told the [FBI] Agents that he was mowing his yard and the mower flipped over in such a way that it [dragged] his hands into the blades and because the blades were spinning so fast it acted like a bomb."

When FBI agents followed up by searching his home, they found a trail of blood leading to Carini's bedroom, where they discovered explosive chemicals and a box of rusty nails that could be used as shrapnel, according to The Daily Beast.

After further inspection, they also found other items that could be used to make bombs including PVC pipes, pieces of loose wires, and hot plates. The lawn also showed no signs of having been freshly mowed.

Officials also found a letter written by Carini in which he describes how a suicide bomber walks through a shopping mall to target a "stage of hot cheerleaders."

'I will make a statement like Elliott Rodgers'

The letter read: "He casually walked through the shopping mall, his jacket concealed deadly objects...He had tension that would come and go as he approached the stage of hot cheerleaders...He decided I will not back down I will not be afraid of the consequences no matter what I will be heroic I will make a statement like Elliott Rodgers did he thought to himself."

In 2014, Elliot Rodgers — who Calini is referring to — went on a killing spree in Isla Vista, California near the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara.

He killed six people and injured fourteen others before shooting himself. In a YouTube video, which he posted before the attack, Rodgers said he wanted to punish women for rejecting him.

Rodger self-identified as an incel. Incels (short for the term "involuntary celibate") refers to self-identifying members of an online subculture based around the inability to find a romantic or sexual partner.

Since 2014, there have been eight mass shootings in North America committed by men who have self-identified as involuntarily celibate, or whose statements align with incel ideologies.

Carini's mother, Karen, told the Daily Beast in a phone conversation that she was surprised that her son's case was "getting national attention," and that her son "needs help."

"It's a situation where my son needs help, and I hope he gets the help he needs," she said. "Not to sound cliche, but I had no idea [about the bomb-making materials]. And I'm willing to work with him. My son needs help. That's all I want to say."

Carini was charged for lying to the FBI in federal court on Friday and is currently being held at Western Virginia Regional Jail. He has a previous record for explosives-related charges as a minor.