South Jordanian police detonated explosives found in a house after evacuating 600 people

Approximately 600 residents were evacuated from their homes so that police could detonate an “explosive substance” found in a house in southern Jordan after a SWAT clash on Thursday night.

Authorities did not specify what the substance was or how much damage was expected.

“The best people are working on this, and security is our top concern,” South Jordan Mayor Dawn Ramsey said at a press conference on Friday, adding that local, state and federal agencies are involved.

Fourteen houses were evacuated after police found the explosive material Thursday night at the home located near 3,400 west and 10,400 south. That evacuation later expanded to 168 homes when experts determined that they “cannot safely remove (the substance) from the home” and needed to detonate it there, according to Rachael Van Cleave, a city spokeswoman. Many of the 34 businesses in the area were also closed, he said.

Residents who were unable to evacuate were told to take refuge in their basements and stay away from windows.

The limits of the evacuation zone were from Bangerter Highway to 3200 West and 10200 South to 10400 South.

Van Cleave said they planned to make two detonations on Friday night, with “one smaller in the afternoon and one potentially larger … sometime after that.” The first detonation occurred around 6 in the afternoon.

A second detonation was made at 10:11 pm, and residents were allowed to return to their homes, according to a South Jordan Public Safety tweet.

Police had been investigating the 42-year-old man, who lives alone in the home, for about a week and knew he had weapons, according to Lt. Matt Pennington.

“The explosives were a surprise to us,” he said.

The man was detained Friday in the Salt Lake County Jail. Police are still working to determine what their intent was with the explosive material and if anyone else was involved, according to Pennington.

Police were called to a Culver’s restaurant on South Jordan Parkway last Saturday after threats by 42-year-olds who texted the business owner, according to a probable cause affidavit. The man in custody was upset with the business, which is located just south of his home, stating that “Culver’s is harassing him and the harassment is the reason why the mass shootings occurred.”

He asked the owner in the text messages how he would feel if the man “went into business and cut customers and staff,” according to the affidavit.

The following day, police received a call that the man “had been seen carrying an AR-style rifle around the outside of his residence,” and “multiple shots” were reported throughout the time, according to the affidavit.

The man also made a comment on Facebook that he had shot a lamppost. Police searched the area and found that the lamppost directly west of the man’s residence was broken, according to court records. The 42-year-old man had two orders of protection against him from April 2019 to June 2019, which prohibited him from possessing or possessing firearms.

Police issued an arrest warrant around 11 pm at the man’s home on Thursday, but refused to surrender. When a West Valley City SWAT armored vehicle, which had eight officers inside, approached the front of the house, “he was heavily fired upon and shot numerous times from the front of the house,” according to the affidavit.

Another SWAT vehicle with five officers inside approached the west side of the house, and “also received several bullets from a rifle.” The shots “flew over” the heads and struck near a team of officers providing security on top of a nearby residence and business.

The man then gave up. He admitted to shooting the lamppost “as a way to send a message to leave him alone” and said he shot at the police “until his gun jammed, so he gave up,” according to the affidavit. He said he had two hunting rifles, a 9mm pistol and a shotgun, according to the affidavit.

The 42-year-old man was arrested for 26 possible crimes ranging from aggravated assault against policemen with bodily injury to a violation of a protection order.

Authorities went door-to-door and sent alerts Friday to evacuate people in the area, according to Van Cleave. They also posted notices on social media for residents who may not have been home at the time.

Ramsey, the mayor, praised the police for their response.

“We are grateful that it ended without harming anyone,” he said.