PROVO — A man detained Friday for allegedly brandishing a gun at Provo Town Center is now accused of possessing 71 homemade bombs at his apartment.
On Friday, a road rage incident led to two vehicles getting into a confrontation in the Provo Town Centre Mall parking lot. A bystander saw a man brandish a gun during the confrontation and called police, Provo Police Chief Troy Beebe said.
Officers arrived and located Eric Whitaker, 41, with a handgun and ammunition. Police then searched his vehicle and located four devices with fuses sticking out of them in his trunk.
“Four total devices that appear to be pipe bombs were removed from the area for safe disposal,” police said.
Whitaker was booked into jail for investigation of possession of incendiary devices.
Whitaker told police the devices were firecrackers, then admitted they were modified flares in case he got lost while hiking, a police booking affidavit said. Bomb squad members identified the items as incendiary devices, police said.
Saturday morning, police obtained a search warrant for Whitaker’s apartment in Orem and located “bomb-making materials” and a large number of “homemade, improvised” grenades, police said Saturday.
“The devices contained shrapnel and explosive powders inside that would cause death or serious bodily injury to multiple victims if they were in the vicinity of the device when it exploded,” the police booking affidavit states.
The apartment building was evacuated Saturday for four hours while a bomb squad removed the devices.
“In total, 71 devices were safely removed from Whitaker’s apartment, along with the various bomb-making materials,” Provo police said in a statement.
On Saturday, Whitaker was arrested for investigation of 71 counts of possessing a weapon of mass destruction.
Police hope to obtain search warrants for Whitaker’s electronic devices to help determine a motive. Although Whitaker’s intent is still unknown, Beebe said devices like the ones found in his apartment are designed for “mass harm and mass casualties.”
There is no current information indicating anyone else was involved with the bombs or that there is any further danger to the public.
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