RIVERDALE, Md. -- A man from Forestville, Md., accused of making a pipe bomb to attack an abortion clinic is scheduled to be in federal court today in Greenbelt, Md.
The device ended up going off in the home of a friend while authorities were trying to disable it.
News4's Chris Gordon reported that the target of the bombing appeared to be the Metropolitan Family Planning Clinic in Greenbelt, Md. They practice general medicine and also perform abortions. The clinic did not comment Thursday.
Court documents said Robert Weiler was arrested at a Garrett County rest stop on Interstate 68 at about 12:30 a.m. The arrest happened after he called agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to admit that he had made the bomb and had a gun that he planned to use in the attack, according to court documents.
The device was a pipe bomb filled with nails, and it was stored in a closet at a Riverdale home. It exploded several hours later as a bomb technician tried to defuse it. No one was injured, but the house was set on fire.
Weiler was charged in U.S. District Court on four counts that included making a destructive device and possessing an illegal handgun. The 25-year-old is being held at the Garrett County Detention Center.
Authorities said they believe Weiler was an acquaintance of the people who live at the Riverdale address.
An investigation into a complaint of illegal handguns led authorities to the home located in the 5700 block of 67th Avenue in Riverdale, Md.
"The Prince George's County Police Department received an anonymous call about 1 p.m. Wednesday, about a possible subject with illegal firearms," Mike Campbell of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told News4 reporter Megan McGrath. "The investigation led us to this residence and later on in the evening, we received information about a possible explosive device in that residence."
Fire Department spokesman Mark Brady told News4 that police notified the bomb squad about midnight. "We responded and confirmed there was an explosive device in the closest of a bedroom of this two-story, single-family home," he said. "We went into render-safe operations, in which the bomb squad attempts to disrupt the package to remove all the components that make it operable."
"During that render-safe operation there was a partial detonation of the device, which caused a fire that consumed the first-floor area of the house and caused about $20,000 in fire loss," Brady said.
A robot is usually used in these types of cases but Brady said a live bomb technician was used this time. He did not say why, only that "the bomb technician was not injured as a result of that detonation."
As a matter of protocol, Brady said, citizens in the area were evacuated and a battalion of firefighters was standing by.
Stay with News4 and nbc4.com for more on this developing story.
