Raymond Elders, 65, was found inside the White Plains apartment early Monday with a 'bluish-black chemical residue' on his hands and holding a lighter when police arrived, according to a criminal complaint. Residents on Odell Avenue said they had often heard small explosions in the area, but two larger blasts early Monday prompted a response from White Plains Police, the FBI, and ATF agents. Neighbors had called the police after hearing loud explosions, with one saying she had been hearing such sounds in the area for several weeks, the document stated.
When authorities arrived, a witness directed an officer to the building where Elders lives, and the officer noticed an 'acrid, burning odor' and then spotted what they believed to be a pipe bomb on the front steps, prosecutors said. Inside, they found Elders and another person. A search of the apartment eventually led to the discovery of at least 25 improvised explosive devices, the complaint noted.
Surveillance video from earlier this month showed a man believed to be Elders standing on a sidewalk holding what appears to be an explosive device, which he then lit and threw into the street before fleeing on foot. An explosion is then heard on the footage seconds later, prosecutors added. Elders is charged with use of a weapon of mass destruction, manufacturing destructive devices, and possession of explosives following prior felony convictions.
He appeared in court Tuesday, where a judge ordered him held in custody, citing concerns that he posed both a flight risk and a danger to the public. Sungso Lee, a federal public defender representing Elders, did not immediately respond Wednesday to an email seeking comment. In Sweden, police were alerted to a suspected dangerous object found in a bike storage of an apartment building in Tensta.
Police made the same assessment of the object as the finder and set up a large cordon around the building. Residents in the nearest stairwell were sheltered in place in their homes. After contact with the national bomb squad, the cordon was reduced in scope but the shelter-in-place remains.
The incident is classified as a serious crime against the law on flammable and explosive goods. In Jönköping, two people were arrested suspected of preparation for public destruction after an alarm about a medical case. Police were alerted to a medical case in an apartment in Huskvarna.
On site, a suspected dangerous object was found and the national bomb squad examined it. The two people in the apartment, a woman in her 30s and a man in his 25s, are suspected of preparation for public destruction and violation of the law on flammable and explosive goods. The object was assessed not to be sharp, but both people have been arrested by a prosecutor.
Police spokesperson Angelica Israelsson Silfver said there is no danger to the general public and no evacuation or shelter-in-place is currently necessary. The object was described as an imitation of a homemade bomb. m.
on the night to Tuesday, an alarm was raised in the Karlstad area. The bomb squad was called to detonate something in the Karlstad area. In Arlöv, police found a suspected dangerous object in a basement in an apartment building in connection with an investigation matter.
The national bomb squad was called for assessment and police set up cordons. In Landskrona, police were alerted to an apartment in central Landskrona after someone put a burning object in a mail slot. The national bomb squad was involved; one of the men previously convicted of the same crime.
In Malmö, police cordoned off a street after finding a suspected dangerous object. The national bomb squad arrived on site. Residents were urged to stay indoors and away from windows and balconies.
A police spokesperson said the first assumption is that it is a couple of objects that are considered dangerous. In Grimstad, Norway, a suspicious object with tape and wires was found during cleanup at a private address, according to police operations leader Tom Einar Gausdal. The bomb squad could not determine what the object was from pictures and was coming to investigate.
The bomb squad was expected to arrive in Grimstad before midnight. Police cordoned off an area to keep unauthorized people away. Gausdal said everything indicated this was undramatic and there was no danger to the surroundings.