Multiple ‘Federal partners’ searching for suspect who tried to blow up massive broadcast facility in New Mexico
Sandia Peak in Bernalillo County is just east of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and sits 10,000 feet above sea level. The mountains are home to an “antenna farm” beaming TV and radio programming across the region from dozens of transmitters and broadcast towers.
Sunday night, a pair of engineers stumbled into a man lighting a Molotov cocktail by a transmitter in what one local television station described as “an attempted act of domestic terrorism” on the massive broadcast facility.
The engineers reportedly spotted a door to one transmitter ajar, with a flickering light coming from inside. They approached and discovered a man lighting a Molotov cocktail.
According to KOB-TV, the would-be terrorist ran from the scene, driving away in a white van, leaving behind a small fire, a cache of unexploded, homemade Molotov cocktails and additional equipment. The suspect remains at large.
The white van the suspect used to escape the property was later found on fire with a dog inside. The van was also reported stolen, according to the outlet.
Had the engineers not discovered the intruder, there is speculation the Molotov cocktails could have ignited more fires, triggering a chain reaction of explosions from the many propane tanks and generators attached to the transmitters.
A representative from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s office spoke with TheBlaze about the incident and the ongoing investigation. “We are cooperating with all of our federal partners,” Deputy Felicia Romero said.
When asked which federal law enforcement agencies were working with the Bernalillo County investigation, Romero directed TheBlaze to the local FBI office and the forestry services. At the time of publication, no federal agency had returned request for comment.
Deputy Romero did tell us, however, that no suspect is in custody and no information about any “person of interest” has yet been released to the public.
Watch the local report.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/10/06/multiple-federal-partners-searching-for-suspect-who-tried-to-blow-up-massive-broadcast-facility-in-arizona