Strange turn of events: Paramedic from Texas plant blast arrested

[cali]

A paramedic who was one of the first on the scene of a massive explosion lat month at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, was arrested early Friday and charged with possession of a destructive device, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Officials have not said whether the arrest of Bruce Reed, 31, is related to the April 17 explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. that killed 14 people, injured around 200 and destroyed hundreds of homes in the vicinity, the newspaper said.

The arrest came as Texas law enforcement officials on Friday said they had launched a criminal investigation into the massive fertilizer plant explosion.

News 92 FM in Houston reported that Reed, who is with the West Emergency Medical Services, was one of the early first responders to the scene of the catastrophe and was assigned to be the incident commander at the scene. News 92 FM said authorities indicated that the explosive device was a pipe bomb.

<snip>

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/10/west-texas-explosion/2150461/

[LeftInTX]

1. I'm curious about this guy they arrested. He apparently had a hearing this AM

but this is what I read about it:

Several local law enforcement officials deferred questions to the ATF. In an email, Franceska Perot, ATF spokeswoman, said the warrant for Reed’s arrest would be sealed until an appearance before a judge.

It is believed that Reed’s initial appearance was held Friday morning in a closed proceeding.

Personnel in the federal district clerk’s office said they did not yet have any public filings related to the case.

http://www.wacotrib.com/news/west_explosion/updated-former-west-ems-volunteer-arrested-on-charge-of-possession/article_497ff644-0631-53c4-8181-755e1743aa39.html

At this point, even after this morning's hearing before a federal judge, there is no info on what the device is etc.

[LanternWaste]

2. If (IF!) the individual turns out to be involved...

If (IF!) the individual turns out to be involved... even if only in the most minor and tertiary manner, the response from locals and Texans will be interesting to watch as there's never been a terrorist attack in TX of any real consequence.

It would be very revealing (to me) to watch the contrast between local news and national news if this turns out to be the case.