TRIPwire, 9 December 2020

On 7 December 2020, at approximately 2200 hours local time, Amherst Police Department (APD) officers and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Forensic Identification and Explosives Disposal Units discovered evidence of an explosive device after responding to reports of an explosion in a residential area in Amherst, Nova Scotia. On 9 December, at approximately 0240 hours local time, a second explosive device functioned three blocks away from the first detonation. No injuries were reported from either detonation. While investigating the second blast, the APD and RCMP Explosives Disposal Unit discovered a third explosive device in a nearby park, which they rendered safe via a controlled detonation onsite. No further device details were released. Authorities are investigating to determine whether the incidents are linked.  

TRIPwire, 19 May 2021

On 14 May 2021, at approximately 2200 hours local time, authorities began receiving reports of a brush fire behind a residential area near Topanga State Park. A Los Angeles Police Department helicopter crew spotted what appeared to be a person setting fires in the area but was unable to locate the suspect due to the intensity of the flames. On 18 May, the Los Angeles Fire Department Arson Counterterrorism Section arrested a 48-year-old homeless male suspect, who allegedly used an improvised incendiary device (IID) to ignite the fire. One firefighter sustained an eye injury from the fire, but no structures were damaged. As of 19 May, at 1000 hours local time, the Palisades Fire has burned more than 1,100 acres and has been 57 percent contained.

TRIPwire, 31 August 2020

On 28 August 2020, at approximately 1050 hours local time, Mashpee Police Department and Fire Department personnel responded to a reported fire at a condominium building after a man suffered facial burns when a pyrotechnic accidentally functioned. The man was taken to a nearby hospital for medical evaluation. Investigators discovered additional pyrotechnics and bomb-making materials (BMM) in the man’s apartment. The Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad responded and conducted render safe procedures on the additional pyrotechnics at a separate location. The Massachusetts Office of the State Fire Marshal is investigating the incident, and according to authorities, the injured man will likely face charges.

TRIPwire, 4 March 2021

On 2 March 2021, an improvised incendiary device (IID) was discovered at the entrance of an apartment complex that is home to a retired Supreme Court justice in Thessaloniki’s Harilaou district. The IID, described as a gas canister connected to a bottle of gasoline, failed to function, and the unknown suspects who emplaced the device fled the scene. On 3 March, at approximately 0500 hours local time, arsonists targeted a Labor Ministry vehicle in Thessaloniki, damaging the vehicle. Authorities have yet to determine if the incidents are connected. The investigations are ongoing.