BRISTOL, Va. (WJHL) — Two men are facing charges after Bristol, Virginia police discovered explosive devices at a home while searching for a shooting suspect, according to authorities.
The Bristol, Virginia Police Department said John Robert Timian, 54, of Bristol, Tennessee, and Keith O’Neil Rice, 51 of Bristol, Tennessee, were arrested Sunday.
Bristol officers responded to Fairview Street early Sunday morning after the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance in locating a suspect involved in an earlier shooting.
According to the sheriff’s office, the shooting happened in the 400 block of Booher Lane and sent a man to the hospital with gunshot wounds to his upper body.
The suspect, identified by the sheriff’s office as Timian, was located in the 600 block of Fairview Street around 2:30 a.m., according to Bristol police.
While officers were searching for the suspect and weapons that may have been involved in the prior shooting, they discovered six homemade explosive devices consisting of several shotgun shells wrapped in plastic and duct tape with a fuse running into the center of each device, according to police.
Bristol, Virginia Detective Lieutenant Steven Crawford said the explosives had the potential to cause a significant amount of harm.
“I can’t stress how these may be crude the why they were made, and they may seem harmless to some people, but they were made to cause a lot of damage.” said Crawford.
Bristol’s bomb squad examined the devices and confiscated them to be destroyed.
The police department said the devices could cause serious injuries or death if detonated.
Timian was charged with five counts of Terror, Use/Sell Weapon/Device for Terror Act. He was also charged with Attempted First-Degree Murder and Aggravated Assault in Sullivan County.
Rice was charged with five counts of Terror, Use/Sell Weapon/Device for Terror Act, one count of Carrying a Concealed Weapon, and six counts of Possess/Transport Firearm By Convicted Felons.
Both suspects are being held without bond at the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail in Abingdon.
