Updated at 3:21pm:
A Wichita man had no anti-abortion motives when he brought a small homemade explosive device into a women's health clinic while applying for a job, police said Tuesday. The 19-year-old was homeless and carrying everything he owned in his backpack when he went to the South Wind Women's Center for a Monday interview, Wichita police spokesman James Espinoza said.
A security officer at the clinic, one of three in Kansas that provide abortions, searched the backpack and called police after finding knives and a small bottle with gunpowder inside and a fuse. The building was briefly evacuated.
The man was arrested on suspicion of unlawful possession of an explosive device, and the case will be presented to the Sedgwick County district attorney's office for possible charges.
Espinoza said the police investigation had "absolutely ruled out" any intent for anti-abortion violence.
Original Story:
A 19-year-old from Wichita is in custody after authorities said he brought a small homemade explosive device into a women's health care clinic that provides abortions in south-central Kansas.
Officers responded to the South Wind Women's Center in Wichita around 3:30 p.m. Monday after an on-site security officer inspected the backpack the man brought in and found knives and the explosive device, Wichita Police Department Capt. Doug Nolte said.
The man, who was arrested on suspicion of manufacturing an explosive device, was at the clinic to do business. Police are investigating whether he intended to harm the clinic, and whether he had any anti-abortion motives.
"It appears he was there legitimately with an appointment with the facility, so it doesn't have the indications of a protester," Nolte said.
The clinic is one of three in Kansas that provide abortions. It opened in 2013 in the same building where Dr. George Tiller provided abortions until an anti-abortion opponent shot and killed him in 2009 in his church. That building has long been the site of anti-abortion violence. Tiller was also shot and wounded in both arms there in 1993 by an abortion opponent, and his clinic was bombed in 1996.
The device was a modified firework about the size of a salt-and-pepper shaker, and could have gone off and injured whoever was near it, Nolte said. Because it was fairly small, any potential damage would have been localized.
Clinic staff members had evacuated the building by the time officers arrived, and one of the first responders was an explosives ordinance disposal technician who took the device outside the building. No injuries or damage were reported.
The case will be presented to the Sedgwick County district attorney's office for possible charges once the investigation is complete. The FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting in the investigation, but based on the type and size of the device it does not appear to meet the guidelines for federal charges, Nolte said.
