UPDATE 10:30 p.m.
By City News Service
Police told City News Service that residents of the affected apartment building where 17 explosive devices were found were allowed to return to the complex at around 9 p.m. Wednesday night.
The LAPD will continue being the lead agency on the case, only with the assistance of the FBI, police said. Earlier in the day, an LAPD spokesperson said the FBI was on hand in case the suspect may have been contemplating large targets or federal buildings.
This is the final Patch update for the evening. Check back with Patch Thursday morning or any overnight developments.
UPDATE 5:15 p.m.
By John Schreiber
The evacuation area surrounding the apartment building where 17 explosive devices were found has been scaled back a bit Wednesday evening.
While the apartment building itself remains closed to residents, most of the surrounding streets that were initially blocked off have now been reopened to traffic. The section of Overland Avenue between Venice Boulevard and Washington Boulevard in front of the apartment building remains closed.
The Culver Center and its parking lot have also been reopened to the public and some businesses are starting to open again.
Meanwhile, residents of the building where the devices were found have been left wondering when they can get back home.
Rick Vanfleet, who lives across the hallway from the apartment where the explosives were found, said he has no clue when he will be allowed back inside. Vanfleet purchased a beach chair at the Culver Center Rite Aid across the street, set it up at the police line and waited for answers.
Vanfleet described the suspect, Robert Wilson, as a quiet man who kept to himself. Even though Wilson lived across the hallway, Vanfleet said he never interacted with him or saw anything suspicious.
"I don't know much about him," Vanlfeet said. "He said hi and hello and that is it."
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UPDATE 4:15 p.m.
By John Schreiber
Police said that the LAPD bomb squad has finished detonating all of the explosive devices found inside an apartment at the Palms and Culver City border.
According to LAPD Detective Gus Villanueva, 17 devices total were found inside Robert Wilson's apartment, prompting an evacuation and massive emergency response earlier this morning.
Villanueva said that once the fire department clears out of the area, the Culver Center parking lot that serves L.A. Fitness, Rite Aid and a score of other businesses will be reopened. The apartment building where the devices were found will remain closed, he said.
Villanueva also added that authorities are in for a long night as now that the devices are disposed of, detectives need to begin searching for evidence in the apartment and the rest of the apartment building.
"Our detectives will go through the apartment basically with a fine-toothed comb," Villanueva said. "It is going to take them a while to go through that apartment."
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UPDATE 3:05 p.m.
By John Schreiber
The Los Angeles Police Department said that they have arrested Robert Wilson, 29, on suspicion of felony possession of a destructive device in connection with multiple explosives found inside Wilson's apartment at the border of Culver City and Palms.
According to LAPD Sgt. Frank Preciado, Wilson is being held on $500,000 bail and is currently cooperating with detectives. The FBI is also on hand to investigate on the chance that Wilson had any plans to use the devices at federal buildings, schools or airports, Preciado said.
City News Service reported Wilson, 29, was stopped by police around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 4100 block of Glencoe Avenue just east of Marina del Rey and found an explosive device in his vehicle.
Police said that they have not yet had a chance to go inside the apartment as the bomb squad is still working on disposing of the explosive devices. So far, seven devices have been set off in an alley adjacent to the building.
"Right now, our main thing is we want to render these devices safe," Preciado said. "Once those are rendered safe, then we will do a systematic search of the apartment complex – everything from internet, mail, drawings and things of that nature."
Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Jaime Moore said that the area is secure and nobody is in immediate danger from the devices.
"There is nobody that is in any danger in this area right now," Moore said. "The bomb squad has as much control as they possibly can of this incident."
More said that officials ordered an evacuation of the building and buildings surrounding the apartment complex to ensure the safety of residents. He said the other main priority is ensuring the safety of first responders.
"It is extremely dangerous and we have seen in recent incidents like the bombing that occurred at the end of the Boston Marathon how much damage these devices can cause," Moore said. "In a structure like this, you are talking about physical damage to the structure... It is a huge concern for the safety of the first responders here."
Moore did not have a description of the explosive devices but stated that it did not appear that they were connected to any sort of plot.
"We do understand from what we have been told that this was something that this individual had been working on," Moore said. "It is not tied to anything else."
No injuries were reported Wednesday but Moore said that one resident of the apartment building, who was under home medical care, was transported to the hospital to ensure proper care continued to be administered during the evacuation.
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UPDATE 1:45 p.m.
By John Schreiber
The LAPD bomb squad is in the process of detonating multiple explosive devices that were found inside an apartment building near Culver City's border with the Palms area, according to Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Jaime Moore.
According to Moore, the devices are being brought one by one into an alley on the south side of the apartment complex to be detonated. An existing concrete wall and sand bags are being used to create what Moore called a bunker around the devices.
"They will shoot it and detonate it there," Moore said. "I just know they create a bunker around it to create a safe environment."
As of 1:50 p.m., four devices were detonated and could be heard in the L.A. Fitness parking lot across the street.
Moore would not specify the exact amount of devices found in the apartment but confirmed there were multiple.
"There are a lot," he said.
Residents who were displaced by the evacuation are being sent to the Veterans Memorial Auditorium at 4117 Overland in Culver City. A hotline with automated shelter information can be reached at 310-253-6890.
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Original Story:
By City News Service
An explosive device found in a man's vehicle during a traffic stop today prompted authorities to go to the motorist's Palms-area residence, where a number of possible explosive devices were found, police said.
A bomb squad was sent to the apartment building in the 3800 block of Overland Avenue about 6:30 a.m., the Los Angeles Police Department reported.
Evacuations of that building and three nearby buildings were ordered, and traffic was routed away from the area while an investigation was conducted. An evacuation center was established at the Veterans Auditorium in Culver City, at 4117 Overland Ave.
According to LAPD Sgt. Frank Preciado, officers conducted a traffic stop this morning and found an explosive device in the suspect's vehicle.
The investigation led them to the man's apartment, where other possible explosive devices were found, Preciado said. The bomb squad was working to remove the items.
Unconfirmed reports indicated that more than a dozen pipe bombs were found in the suspect's residence.
"This appears to be just a lone wolf type of individual," Preciado told reporters. "There's no connection with terrorism. This is an individual who apparently seemed to be intrigued with explosive devices."
His name was not immediately released.
- City News Service
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