Last week, a man from Phoenix was charged with allegedly placing an explosive device on a Valley Metro light rail platform.
As stated in legal documents, authorities in Phoenix were alerted to the area near 24th and Jefferson streets around midnight on January 23rd regarding a potential explosive object on the platform. The object was identified as dynamite placed under a bench.
Upon the arrival of the officers, they came across a collection of cardboard tubes that were bound together by tape. Additionally, a green fuse was observed protruding from the bundles.
Valley Metro had to stop their westbound light rail service at 38th Street and completely evacuate the platform, resulting in a major disturbance to their operations.
The bomb squad of Phoenix police was summoned to investigate and concluded that the object in question may pose a danger as an explosive device.
After safely removing the device, the platform was back in use and light rail operations resumed after a delay of nearly three hours.
According to court documents, law enforcement utilized facial recognition technology to produce a lead on a potential suspect.
20-year-old Luis Arrano was arrested two days after the occurrence.
According to reports, Luis confessed to the authorities that he removed a package of fireworks from his backpack and placed them on the platform.
Arrano now faces a felony charge of disorderly conduct with a weapon.
