The Brunswick Police Department confiscated a firearm on Tuesday from a suspect who allegedly threatened another man and booby-trapped his own apartment with a flash-bang grenade.
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At approximately 5:21 p.m., the Brunswick Police Department responded to a Federal Street residence after receiving a report that an unnamed male suspect had threatened another man with a firearm.
Officers arrived and learned that the suspect had allegedly approached the other man while wearing a mask and threatened him with a firearm.
Police located the suspect, who allegedly had the firearm tucked into his waistband and the mask around his neck.
He was taken into custody, and officers believed that he was suffering from a “mental health episode.”
He was transported to a mental health facility for evaluation, and his firearm was confiscated and secured at the Brunswick Police Station.
After officers made contact with the suspect, he allegedly warned them that he had set up a “grenade” attached to the door of his apartment by a wire.
Officers responded to the suspect’s apartment and found a wire sticking out of the door jamb, but were unable to see what it connected to.
In response to the alleged explosive, officers evacuated nearby residences, and the Portland Police Hazard Device Unit (bomb squad) responded along with the Brunswick Fire Department.
The Portland bomb squad was able to enter the apartment and make the device safe “using special resources”.
They concluded that the wire had been attached to the pin of a device just inside the door and identified the device as a non-lethal, consumer-grade flashbang grenade, designed to create a loud sound and a blinding flash of light.
As a result of the incident, a portion of Federal Street was shut down for approximately three hours.
Police did not release the name of the suspect because the incident was believed to be mental health related. It is not clear whether the suspect will be charged or committed to a mental health institution.
