"Move back!": Suspect fired a flamethrower at police | Watch
Police officers who arrived to serve an eviction notice at an apartment in Oklahoma were caught in a trap. The tenant, who refused to leave, booby-trapped the apartment with an improvised device connected to a car battery and aimed a flamethrower at the approaching officers: "Everyone out!". The suspect was arrested and there were no injuries. Watch the footage from the police body cameras.
The eviction turned into an ambush: police officers in Oklahoma County arrived to evict a 61-year-old tenant from his apartment, but instead of a quiet process, they were attacked with a flamethrower and later discovered an improvised explosive device connected to a car battery at the entrance.
The Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office released dramatic body camera footage from the incident that took place in Oklahoma City. In the video, deputies and officers are seen arriving at midday to serve an eviction notice to the tenant, Daron Dunn, 61. Housing authority representatives unlocked the door but immediately noticed that it would not open fully, as it had been blocked by taut cables and a wheelchair.
"Move back, get away!"
When the officers managed to clear a path into the dark and cluttered apartment, they identified Dunn sitting in the bedroom. However, the moment he noticed the forces, the tenant acted quickly: he pulled out an aerosol spray, ignited it with a lighter, and fired a flamethrower directly at the officers and the security guard.
"We're moving back! Get away!" — one of the officers is heard shouting in the footage, as the officers retreat into the hallway.
According to the incident report, the fire reached a distance of about 5 meters, and the officers testified that they felt "extreme heat" emitted towards them.
"He connected it to a battery! Everyone out!"
The improvised flamethrower attack was only the beginning. As the officers retreated, they noticed an even more terrifying sight: next to the suspect was a car battery from which exposed electrical wires emerged, and another device placed near the front door.
"He connected it to a battery! Everyone out! There's an improvised device here! Get out!" — one of the officers shouted in the footage.
An initial inspection revealed that the improvised device was composed of rows of gas canisters and carburetor cleaner sprays taped together, wrapped in exposed electrical wires.
After tense negotiations, police bomb squad technicians managed to neutralize the wires, remove Dunn from his apartment safely while he was seated in his wheelchair, and arrest him. A spokesperson for the Sheriff's Office later stated that police bomb technicians determined that the improvised device would likely not have exploded in the configuration in which it was built, but contact between the wires and the battery could have created intense sparks or dangerous overheating.
The suspect was initially taken to a Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital for medical treatment and a mental health evaluation, and from there was transferred to a mental health facility. At the same time, an indictment was filed against him including assault with a dangerous weapon, manufacturing and possession of an incendiary or explosive device, and obstructing an officer.
