Officers found 14 improvised explosive devices in a Tennessee home while apprehending a man who had threatened to kill public officials and local law enforcement personnel, authorities said Aug. 2.
Investigators and sheriff’s deputies went to a residence on Aug. 1 in the community of Old Fort, located just north of the Tennessee-Georgia border, seeking to arrest Kevin Wade O’Neal on active warrants, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. O’Neal, 54, was accused of threatening to kill public officials and law enforcement personnel in the county.
While taking him into custody, the sheriff’s office said in a statement that deputies noticed “something was smoldering” in the bedroom where the suspect was found. They observed what appeared to be an improvised explosive device, also known as IED.
The deputies immediately evacuated the residence, and alerted the Chattanooga Police Department bomb squad and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), according to the sheriff’s office. Officers and agents later discovered 14 IEDs inside the home.
Further investigation revealed O’Neal had planned to detonate the devices as law enforcement arrived to arrest him, the sheriff’s office said. The suspect faces 11 counts of attempted first-degree murder, 14 counts of prohibited weapons and one count of possession of explosive components.
O’Neal is currently being held at the Polk County Jail and bond has yet to be determined, according to the sheriff’s office.
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IEDs have “remained a persistent threat” and attacks using the devices are a common security concern related to terrorism and violence in the United States, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
IEDs, which are also referred to as “homemade” bombs, are easy to construct and can cause significant disruption and harm, the CISA says on its website.
“Because they are improvised, IEDs can come in many forms, ranging from a small pipe bomb to a sophisticated device capable of causing massive damage and loss of life,” according to the DHS. “IEDs can be carried or delivered in a vehicle; carried, placed, or thrown by a person; delivered in a package; or concealed on the roadside.”
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In recent months, several cases involving the use of IEDs have made national headlines. In July, a New York man was charged after he was accused of making and attempting to use multiple IEDs in parts of Manhattan.
Homemade explosive devices were discovered near a park in April in Garland, a city located about 20 miles northeast of Dallas and part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Authorities secured the area where the devices were found and bomb technicians later disabled them.
Earlier this year, USA TODAY reported a Federal Bureau of Investigation raid of a Virginia home in December 2024 uncovered more than 150 homemade explosive devices. The FBI described it as the largest seizure of explosive devices in the agency’s history.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tennessee authorities discover 14 IEDs in man’s home during arrest
