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School bombing likely averted
An Amarillo resident who set off a bomb in his backyard, stashed a suicide vest in his alleyway, and plotted to blow up Amarillo ISD’s 2,185-student Tascosa High School pleaded guilty (Dec. 5) to a federal weapons of mass destruction charge. (See also this TV report.)

Authorities said that Erfan Salmanzadeh, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Iran, could face up to life in prison when he is sentenced at a later time by a federal judge. Prosecutors said that Salmanzadeh admitted to law enforcement that he used a homemade explosive to blow up an Xbox in his back yard on July 26, 2021.

At the time, he claimed he wanted to see how much damage such an explosion would cause.

Law enforcement later reviewed his electronic devices, including a video Salmanzadeh recorded threatening to blow up a local high school.

“We are going to Blast the School”
“We are going to blast the school,” he said in Farsi, before displaying to the camera the nail bomb filled with shrapnel, the suicide vest filled with pipes labeled dynamite, a suitcase filled with a container labeled explosives, and a backpack filled with bottles labeled explosives.

Officers uncovered several other videos showing Salmanzadeh conducting test explosions and several journals that contained notes and formulas related to the production of explosives. He further admitted that after law enforcement arrived at his home to investigate the explosion — that was reported by a neighbor who heard the blast – he flushed a gallon-sized jar of explosives powder down the toilet and concealed a suicide vest and a nail bomb in a dumpster in his alleyway.

Authorities thanked the neighbor, whose reporting of hearing the explosion, they said, likely averted a tragedy.