Explosive Placed Under News Vehicle
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A Utah man is behind bars after federal authorities say he planted a live, incendiary bomb under a news vehicle parked outside a television station, an act police are calling a significant threat to public safety and a brazen attack on the media.
The harrowing series of events began on Friday, when a suspicious package was discovered underneath a news media vehicle in Salt Lake City. Members of the Salt Lake City Police Bomb Squad and the Unified Fire Authority Arson/Bomb Squad responded to the scene. Authorities confirmed the device was a real bomb that had been lit but, for unknown reasons, failed to function as designed, narrowly averting a potentially deadly explosion next to an occupied building.
Due to the device's nature and its alarming placement in a targeted attack against the press, the FBI immediately assumed jurisdiction over the investigation.
Federal agents quickly identified two suspects associated with the incident and tracked them to a residence in a Salt Lake City suburb.
The following day, on Saturday, the FBI, supported by local bomb squads, executed a federal search warrant at the home. Both suspects, including 58-year-old Adeeb Nasir, were found at the residence and taken into custody.
The scene grew more tense when investigators discovered what appeared to be two additional weapons of mass destruction inside the home. When questioned, both suspects reportedly told police the devices were real, forcing an immediate evacuation of all law enforcement from the residence and a lockdown of the surrounding neighborhood as disposal procedures began. The devices were later determined to be hoaxes.
During the search, authorities also found two firearms and illegal narcotics. According to arrest documents, both Nasir and the second suspect are legally restricted from possessing firearms due to prior illegal drug use. Police said their actions "created a significant risk of mass casualties."
On Sunday, Adeeb Nasir was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail and ordered to be held without bail. He faces a slate of serious charges, including two first-degree felony counts for the use or possession of a weapon of mass destruction, one count of attempted aggravated arson, and two counts of making a threat of terrorism.
