A man arrested on Wednesday for exploding a bomb in a courthouse in California, leaving five injured, could pass between seven and 40 years behind bars.
So it reported the Department of Justice, which identified the attacker as Nathaniel James McGuire. The 20-year-old suspect is from Santa Maria, where he carried out the attack.
McGuire was detained by police while trying to enter a Ford Mustang parked outside the Santa Barbara County Superior Courthouse where he had thrown a bag that exploded in the hallwayhurting those around him.
Inside the car, authorities found ammunition, a flare gun, a box of fireworks, a shotgun, a rifle, 10 Molotov cocktails and a suspected bombaccording to an affidavit in the complaint. In his home, McGuire kept even more dangerous material: “An empty can with nails taped to the outside, a canvas bag with matches, black powder, used and unused fireworks, and papers that appeared to be recipes for explosive material.”
“Not only did he injure five people and traumatize many more, but he possessed an arsenal of weapons that would have allowed him to cause even greater destruction had he not been stopped,” said U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, Martin Estrada.
An attempt to evade justice
McGuire was due to appear in superior court on Wednesday to answer charges related to improper carrying of weapons, AFP reported. Upon being arrested, he allegedly shouted that the Government had taken away his weapons and called on those listening to him to rebel.
When the authorities questioned him, He said his plan was to kill the court assistantsthen go back to his car to get his weapons and then enter the building again to kill a judgeaccording to Newsweek.
“The idea of intentionally detonating an explosive device to cause harm and, in the process, evade justice is something that shocks the conscience,” said the assistant director of the FBI field office, Akil Davis. “We are determined to hold McGuire accountable for this blatant act of violence.”
