Seattle PD impound van full of ‘explosives, stun guns & spike strips’ at precinct after violent protests (PHOTOS)
The Seattle police said that they have recovered a large haul of pyrotechnic explosives, stun guns, bear spray and sets of spike strips in a van abandoned by protesters after they wrought havoc in the city over the weekend.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best revealed that officers decided to search a vehicle used by protesters and subsequently left near the East Precinct on Saturday, explaining they feared it could have been rigged with explosives.
Because of the manner in which the vehicle was parked and abandoned, there was a real fear that it would contain explosive devices that could detonate
The van was “closely” following the protesters, who were seen “removing items [from the vehicle] and distributing them to people within the group” amid fierce clashes with law enforcement on Saturday.
Among the items that had been handed out to the protesters were “baseball bats, pyrotechnic explosives, APR respirators, face masks and improvised shields,” Best noted.
However, police were in for an even bigger surprise when they obtained a warrant to search the unattended vehicle, finding a cache of weapons inside, including pyrotechnic explosives, unlit smoke bombs, bear mace, pepper spray, stun guns and improvised spike strips.
Best said that bringing a van filled to the brim with munitions is not consistent with the notion of “peaceful protesters.”
Peaceful protesters do not show up with a van full of bear spray, stun guns, spike strips, and explosives
Seattle was rocked with one of the most violent protests to date on Saturday, when a huge crowd of demonstrators flocked to the county juvenile detention facility, setting fire to construction trailers and vandalizing businesses along the way. The officers were pelted with stones, bottles, liquid-filled balloons and other projectiles, as well as “some sort of explosives,” with police eventually declaring a riot and arresting at least 25 people for assaults on law enforcement.
Protesters also tried to storm the East Precinct. The attempt saw a protester breaking through the fence and an explosive device blasting a small hole in the wall of the precinct.
Seattle’s East Precinct was hit with an explosive. This is from the interior. This isn’t peaceful. pic.twitter.com/B8FHtfoyXT
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) July 26, 2020
An investigation into the van is underway, but no arrests have been made so far in relation to the abandoned weapons cache.
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