ORLANDO, Fla. -- A high school chemistry teacher was arrested after students claimed he taught his class how to make a bomb, the sheriff's office said.

Video

Student Videotapes Himself Detonating Bomb

David Pieski, 42, used an overhead projector in class to give instructions in making explosives to students at Freedom High School, including advising them to use an electric detonator to stay clear from the blast, an Orange County sheriff's arrest report said.

In Pieski's classroom, authorities said they found the chemical breakdown for an explosive used by Middle East suicide bombers. It was not clear if the information found in a book labeled "Demo" was shared with students, the arrest report said.

One student said he set off an explosive device at a golf course on Jan. 6 and videotaped it (click here to watch), an arrest warrant showed. The videotape shows an explosion, and the voice of a young man can be heard shouting. That student was allegedly encouraged by Pieski to make the video.

"A lot of people are shocked at school, but they really don't think he should be arrested," said freshman Eric German.

GET WFTV NEWS HEADLINES BY EMAIL 9 a.m. Headlines Noon Headlines 4 p.m. Headlines News of the Strange Breaking News Alerts

Pieski was charged with possessing or discharging a destructive device and culpable negligence. Pieski, who was booked into the Orange County Jail on Monday, declined comment. He was later released on $1,000 bail.

"It's beyond comprehension to me that a teacher would have a child do that," commented Det. Kelly Boaz, Orange County Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad.

School district area Superintendent Judy Cunningham said Pieski was reassigned to a desk job in her office after he was interviewed by authorities. He is still earning his salary.

Pieski told investigators he detonated chemicals in a coffee can by a ball field four times for his students, the sheriff's office said. He said he did this as a chemistry project to show a reaction rate, the arrest report said.

"Pieski admitted to me that he observed (the student's) video and approved of his successful results," the arrest warrant said. "Pieski disagreed with the project being an explosion."

Pieski guided investigators to an unlocked metal cabinet in the back of a classroom, where there was "a can of black powder stored next to other chemicals," the sheriff's office said.

School officials told investigators that Pieski previously had been told he was not allowed to have any form of explosive on campus.