Officers from the Bloomington Police Department were informed Monday that a man living in a second-floor apartment at Kinser Flats had threatened to detonate explosives in the building.
BPD officers met with the Kinser Flats property manager who informed them that 23-year-old Jayden Grubb had told another person he was in possession of military-grade explosives. Grubb had threatened to detonate due to his pending eviction, BPD Captain Ryan Pedigo said in an email.
Officers saw on camera footage that someone inside the apartment threw a lit object, which officers believed to be some sort of explosive firework, into the hallway at 6 a.m. which then exploded.
As officers attempted to make contact with Grubb, he refused to exit a back bedroom of the apartment. A 34-year-old woman emerged from the bedroom, and said Grubb wouldn’t let her leave when officers first arrived.
Pedigo said Grubb began to yell and threw a burning object at the officers. As the officers retreated, the apartment's carpet caught on fire.
Officers evacuated the apartment and members of the Critical Incident Response Team, a multijurisdictional task force designed to handle serious emergency situations, were dispatched to assist.
Members of the Crisis Negotiation Team, who are a part of the CIRT team according to BPD’s general order governing the activation of CIRT, and a police social worker attempted to communicate with Grubb but he barricaded the door.
Members of the CIRT utilized less-lethal techniques in an attempt to force Grubb out of the bedroom, but he again refused to exit. Members of CIRT forced the door open and took Grubb into custody without further incident. Pedigo said no gas was used at Kinser Flats during the incident.
According to the National Institute of Justice, there are seven types of less-lethal device technologies including conducted energy devices, directed energy devices, chemicals, distraction, vehicle-stopping technology, barriers and blunt force. Technologies currently in use include conducted-energy devices such as Tasers, bean bag rounds, pepper spray and stun grenades, according to the NIJ.
Members of the Indiana State Police and their Explosive Ordnance Disposal team assisted in searching the apartment.
Grubb was transported to the Monroe County Jail where he was booked for attempted arson, two counts of intimidation, criminal confinement, resisting law enforcement and an outstanding arrest warrant for possession of methamphetamine.
