TRIPwire, 11 July 2019

On 9 July 2019 at approximately 1620 hours local time, the Rome Police Department and Dane County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad discovered and rendered safe an explosive device at a private residence after the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) alerted the department to a bomb threat the CIA received via an email traced to Rome. The writer of the email threatened to kill a resident of Wisconsin Rapids with the explosive device. The police and bomb squad responded and officers arrested a 33-year-old male suspect, who told them he constructed the explosive device and stored it in a shed.

TRIPwire, 07 March 2018

On 5 March 2018 at approximately 1300 hours local time, officers from the Beaver Dam Police Department responded to an explosion at an apartment complex in Beaver Dam. According to authorities, the explosion killed one person in the residence. Investigators initially believed the explosion was caused by a methamphetamine laboratory. However, during the course of the investigation, they found precursor chemicals and bomb-making material inside the apartment, which prompted an evacuation of the building. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were contacted for support and are assisting with the investigation, as well as with the removal of the victim’s body, which remained in the apartment due to presence of explosive precursor chemicals. The Dane County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad also responded, using a robot to remove chemicals from the deceased’s apartment and a garage. No further information was provided on the type of chemicals at the scene and what materials were discovered. The investigation is ongoing.

TRIPwire, 26 October 2018

On 24 October 2018 at approximately 1530 hours local time, a group of children detonated an unidentified explosive device, which caused fire in a neighborhood in Huntington. A witness stated that 10 children dragged a trash can down the alley and soon after he heard a loud explosion. A spokesperson for the Huntington Police Department (HPD) stated that the explosion, which was initiated under the trash can, projected pieces of garbage can 25 feet in all directions. In addition, the blast set a tree on fire, which burned a neighbor’s fence and a tarp that covered his camper. The Huntington Fire Marshal and police investigators collected what was left of the trash can as evidence.

TRIPwire, 29 January 2019
On 27 January 2019 at approximately 1000 hours local time, Marion County Sheriff’s Department (MCSD) deputies encountered two men passed out in a vehicle along Route 250, north of Mannington. Upon searching the vehicle, deputies found three IEDs, described as pipe bombs, and methamphetamine. MCSD notified the West Virginia State Police, the ATF, and a West Virginia State Police Explosive Response Team bomb technician, who rendered the devices safe. No injuries were reported. There is no further information on the devices but the suspects have been arrested. The investigation is ongoing.