Officers found 14 improvised explosive devices in a Tennessee home while apprehending a man who had threatened to kill public officials and local law enforcement personnel, authorities said Aug. 2.
Investigators and sheriff's deputies went to a residence on Aug. 1 in the community of Old Fort, located just north of the Tennessee-Georgia border, seeking to arrest Kevin Wade O’Neal on active warrants, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. O’Neal, 54, was accused of threatening to kill public officials and law enforcement personnel in the county.
While taking him into custody, the sheriff's office said in a statement that deputies noticed "something was smoldering" in the bedroom where the suspect was found. They observed what appeared to be an improvised explosive device, also known as IED.
The deputies immediately evacuated the residence, and alerted the Chattanooga Police Department bomb squad and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), according to the sheriff's office. Officers and agents later discovered 14 IEDs inside the home.
Further investigation revealed O'Neal had planned to detonate the devices as law enforcement arrived to arrest him, the sheriff's office said. The suspect faces 11 counts of attempted first-degree murder, 14 counts of prohibited weapons and one count of possession of explosive components.
