icon bookmark-bicon bookmarkicon cameraicon checkicon chevron downicon chevron lefticon chevron righticon chevron upicon closeicon v-compressicon downloadicon editicon v-expandicon fbicon fileicon filtericon flag ruicon full chevron downicon full chevron lefticon full chevron righticon full chevron upicon gpicon insicon mailicon moveicon-musicicon mutedicon nomutedicon okicon v-pauseicon v-playicon searchicon shareicon sign inicon sign upicon stepbackicon stepforicon swipe downicon tagicon tagsicon tgicon trashicon twicon vkicon yticon wticon fm
25 May, 2015 03:47

Pressure cooker found in car near Capitol detonated by bomb squad, owner arrested

Pressure cooker found in car near Capitol detonated by bomb squad, owner arrested

A car owner was arrested in Washington, DC after police discovered a “suspicious” vehicle containing a pressure cooker near the US Capitol building. A bomb squad was called to detonate the object.

A US Capitol Police spokeswoman told AP that officers patrolling the area had spotted an unattended vehicle parked on the National Mall west of the Capitol. The officers detected “an odor of gasoline,” which they found suspicious. Even more suspicious were some “items of concern” inside the vehicle – including a pressure cooker.

A bomb squad, which was called to the scene, “disrupted” the objects with a controlled detonation.

READ MORE: ‘Do you have any bombs?’ Woman sparks police raid with 'pressure cooker' Google search

Police then arrested the vehicle’s owner, Israel Shimeles of Alexandria, Virginia, charging him with “operating after revocation.” He was being processed at Capitol Police headquarters, according to AP. It was not immediately clear if Shimeles was responsible for leaving the vehicle near the Capitol, and police have given no further comment on the nature of the charge or details about the objects found.

The Sunday bomb scare has apparent connections to the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, when two pressure cookers were used by the Tsarnaev brothers in a terror act inspired by Islamist extremism. Three people were killed and as many as 264 were injured in that incident, as metal beads and nails had been added to the cookers to create a shrapnel effect. On May 15, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was sentenced to death by a Massachusetts jury, while his brother Tamerlan was killed in a violent shootout with police the night after the attack.

READ MORE: Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev sentenced to death

Podcasts
0:00
24:55
0:00
28:50