Guns, Pipe Bombs, Ammo Recovered

[KansDem]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Police have recovered guns, pipe-bombs and thousands of ammunition rounds from a burned-out home where two sets of human remains were found in the days after a bizarre incident in which a paramedic was shot while responding to a fire.

<snip>
Authorities said the rifles and handguns discovered at the scene ranged is size from .22 to .50 caliber. One of the guns was identified as a magazine-fed, high-powered Barrett .50 caliber rifle, which officials said can cost up to $8,000. In all, police said they recovered about 20 guns in various conditions, parts of at least 20 pipe-bombs, and thousands of rounds of live and discharged ammunition.

<snip>
Police initially described Wright as a "person of interest," but called off a search for him on Tuesday, the same day that animal and human remains were found in the rubble. Friends of Clark said they have been unable to contact her since Monday afternoon.
http://www.kctv5.com/Global/story.asp?S=1671440&nav=1PubL7Du

What makes this even more interesting is the Kansas City Star reported today that the subject, who police described as a "person of interest" was briefly suspected in this tragedy:

1988
Six firefighters are killed in a massive explosion near Blue River Road and 71 Highway...
http://www.kcmo.org/timeline.nsf/web/19880000?opendocument

but was dropped from the investigation when his wife provided an alibi. His wife says this of him now in the KCTV5 report:

Wright's former wife, Beverly, said in the petition that led to their 1998 divorce that he was dangerous and she was afraid of him.

Either this fellow had a HUGE grudge against the city...

Wright had been in a dispute with the city over code violations at his property, court records show, and had been due at a hearing Monday morning. The scheduled hearing had stemmed from his conviction last fall for failing to get a permit for a pile of construction debris on the property.

He failed to show up for the hearing, and a municipal judge issued a warrant for his arrest, city prosecutor Beth Murano said.

...or there was a hard-core militia-type living not too far from where I live... :scared:

I think there's more to this story (everything's not yet "up to date in Kansas City")...

[slackmaster]

1. "Parts of" about 20 pipe bombs???

I probably have enough pipe nipples and end caps sitting in my plumbing stuff drawer to construct a couple of pipe bombs.

I wonder how they distinguish between a fitting that is a "bomb part" and one that is not.

As for the firearms and ammunition, that's all legal AFAIK. "Thousands of rounds" of ammo isn't jack shit. Four bricks of .22 would constitute thousands of rounds.

BTW - I've personally heard of a firefighter being shot while fighting a fire. Apparently there was a loaded pistol in the house, and the heat of the fire caused the chambered round to cook off. He was only injured slightly.

[Wickerman]

2. Hard to say what transpired

Can't tell whether he staged an attack or whether ammo discharged. The fact that she (paramedic) got hit twice in the chest and that the squad cars took direct hits (which the police were using as shields) would make it seem like he was aiming.

"Responding to the explosion and fire at the first house on Monday afternoon, Seymour and other paramedics, firefighters and police officers came under gunfire shortly after they arrived at the scene. The gunfire came from the direction of the house across the street, which later exploded."

snip--

"Some of those guns were stowed among three large gun safes also found in the ruble. Fletcher said fragments from those safes were scattered up to 300 feet from the house by the explosion."

Guess he was a reposnible gun owner after all.

[alwynsw]

3. I hope I don't have a fire.

I can't glean enough information from the article to draw a reasoned conclusion. It certainly appears from the reporter's writing style that he's attempting to paint right and Clark as militia types. They may or may not be.

It's not unusual for a reloader to have up to 100# or more of various types of powder in his home. I rarely have less than 50# on hand and know several folks who keep more than me. (Get a Dillon 1000 going strong and see how fast components get used up.) As for the "pipe bomb parts"; like slackmaster, I've enough odd pieces of pipe, pipe caps, and nipples to assemble a number of pipe bombs. (You try living with a welll for your water source without the right parts to patch and repair pipes and water lines.) You get the picture: fire at my house, I die in the fire, the debris could make me appear a militia type to some.

I'll make no judgement as to any issues Clark and/or Wright may have had or to their possible links to militia groups. They may have been survivalist types. As I see it: the best case scenario is that it's a case of bad luck all around - a fire caused by unknown means and a bunch of cooled off ammo - the worst case is someone gone whacko and commiting "suicide by cop" gone bad. It could be anything in between.

In the final analysis, it's a good thing that no officers or firefighters were killed. I regret that Ms. Seymour was wounded and wish her a speedy recovery.

[slackmaster]

4. Or have the cops show up at your place as a wrong address?

It would be hell for me either way.

I have a non-firing replica German MG-34 machine gun on top of a bookshelf, probably 25,000 rounds of various calibers of ammunition, about 10 pounds of smokeless powder, some black powder, fuse, Tannerite, pipe fittings, and a 100-pound practice drop bomb (empty but scary-looking) sitting next to my gun safe. It's all perfectly legal and my "assault weapons" are registered but the first cops or firefighters on the scene would probably soil themselves then call the bomb squad and the BATFE.

[alwynsw]

5. Amen.

I want a practice bomb. All I've got is a 120mm main gun dummy from an Abrams! You lucky bastard!

[slackmaster]

6. My ex-wife gave me the practice bomb

She called one day and said "I think I have something you'd like!" and brought it over.

Oh, I also have a brass case from a 3-inch/50 Naval gun. It looks like a giant 30-30 case. No projectile yet, but I plan to turn one out of wood one of these days. One more thing to give the cops to have a heart attack.

:evilgrin: