Douglas Ferrin, self portrait. Courtesy of the artist.
Douglas Ferrin, 54, the artist who blew part of his hand off last week, was charged Tuesday with “weapons of mass destruction,” risking a catastrophe, and failure to prevent a catastrophe, prosecutors announced.
Ferrin, a realist oil painter whose work was once featured in a Society Hill gallery, reportedly was tinkering with an explosive device at his Germantown home around 4 a.m. on Wednesday, May 7, when the device exploded.
Ferrin reportedly has mental health issues and a fondness for explosives. He served six months in prison for dropping an M-80 firecracker in a Chesco pub men’s room toilet in 2011, according to an interview he did with “The Art Room” blog.
Ferrin’s hand injury was reportedly treated at Albert Einstein Medical Center after the explosion.
A nurse at the hospital refused to comment on Ferrin’s condition and whether he was still hospitalized.
Bail is set at $500,000.
