Army veteran arrested for placing explosives at a Florida VA medical facility

A Florida veteran was arrested after he allegedly left an Improvised Explosive Device at a St. Petersburg-area Veterans Affairs facility.

60-year-old Mark Edward Allen was reported by his wife and arrested on Tuesday after an IED was found near a Veterans Benefits Administration regional office around 1 PM on Tuesday.

The device was discovered near the entrance of the facility, near the main entrance of the local regional office. According to Military Times, the VA Police, the Tampa Police Department Bomb Squad and the FBI were all dispatched to the scene.

An FBI report stated that an X-ray of the device revealed “a 9-volt battery, electric wires, an improvised initiator, an unknown powder, and a clothes-pin switch.”

After bomb techs disarmed the device, an EOD robot was used to dismantle the bomb.

Allen’s wife reported a second bomb, which she placed in a vehicle and drove to a friend’s house as her husband slept, claiming she was afraid.

An Army veteran, Allen was arrested and taken to the Pinellas County Jail, where he is being held without bail on a federal warrant. He was charged with possession of unregistered explosives.

© 2019 Bright Mountain Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

The content of this webpage may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written consent of Bright Mountain Media, Inc. which may be contacted at info@brightmountainmedia.com, ticker BMTM.