In town for the Pride festival
Authorities in Santa Monica found possible explosives as well as weapons and ammunition Sunday in the car of a man who told them he was in town for the L.A. Pride festival in West Hollywood, a law enforcement source said.
Early Sunday, Santa Monica police received a call of a suspected prowler near Olympic Boulevard and 11th Street. Patrol officers responded and encountered an individual who told officers he was waiting for a friend. That led officers to inspect the car and find several weapons and a lot of ammunition as well as tannerite, an ingredient that could be used to create a pipe bomb.
The car had Indiana plates. The man, was was arrested, made comments that he was in town for the Pride event in West Hollywood this weekend. The source said they believed there was no connection between the gay nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., early Sunday morning and the Santa Monica incident. The investigation has been taken over by the FBI. The source said the man appeared to be white.
Well let’s hope there’s no connection.
A city official in West Hollywood also confirmed the arrest and stressed that officials were beefing up security at the gay pride event.
“They found him with weapons that were very disconcerting,” said the source, adding officials are “taking the appropriate safety precautions.”
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One source in West Hollywood said there was discussion of calling off the parade but that officials decided to go forward, with heavy security including undercover officers in the crowd.
The sources spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
West Hollywood City Councilwoman Lindsey Horvath said in a statement that Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials are stepping up security efforts around Sunday’s parade and other festivities. But she said officials do not believe there is any threat around Sunday’s activities.
But, of course, they don’t know.
A quick check: tannerite IS an explosive of sorts. Two inertish powders than can be shaken together. Will explode under heavy impact, normally used to make ‘exploding’ targets for recreational shooting.