Bomb Squad Spent All Day Blowing Up Bombs At Home Of Armed Felon Arrested At Kentucky Hospital

Versailles, KY – Law enforcement spent all day Friday safely detonating improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that were found inside the home of the body armor-clad, armed man arrested at the University of Kentucky medical center on Thursday afternoon.

University of Kentucky police said they received a tip from another law enforcement agency early on March 25 warning that an armed man might be headed to Albert B. Chandler Hospital on the UK campus, the Louisville Courier Journal reported.

UK Police Chief Joe Monroe said the person who reported it to police warned that the suspect – 44-year-old Bryan Carroll of Versailles – was armed and dangerous and headed to the hospital to visit a relative.

Chief Monroe said police used the surveillance system at the hospital to quickly locate Carroll, who had already gotten inside to make his visit, the Lexington Herald Leader reported.

He said that officers were waiting when Carroll exited the hospital.

“We did find firearms on his person, as well as body armor and what we believe to be a couple of explosive devices,” Chief Monroe said.

The police chief said that Carroll had two handguns strapped to his waist, and a tin of a gray powdering substance with a straw, the Lexington Herald Leader reported.

He said officer nabbed Carroll as he tried to get into his car and the man resisted and tried to flee.

Officers brought him to the ground and handcuffed him, the Lexington Herald Leader reported.

And then officers asked a family member inside the car to get out and began a search of the vehicle.

They found more guns inside Carroll’s car, including two long guns, and “a large amount of ammunition,” WDRB reported.

Chief Monroe said officers found “a suspicious looking item made of paper and tape which resembled an improvised explosive device,” the Lexington Herald Leader reported.

Then they found more of them.

A total of four devices believed to be IEDs were found inside Carroll’s car parked the hospital, the Lexington Herald Leader reported.

UK police called in the Lexington Police Department’s bomb squad and shut down the streets around the emergency room parking lot while they detonated the devices.

On Friday, Lexington PD’s Bomb Detection Unit and the FBI began searching Carroll’s residence for explosive devices, WDRB reported.

Following yesterday's events at UK Hospital, @FBILouisville Special Agent Bomb Techs, @ATFLouisville, and local police are addressing public safety concerns in Versailles, KY. This effort will include controlled explosions and is likely to continue throughout the day.

— FBI Louisville (@FBILouisville) March 26, 2021

Late morning, the FBI posted to social media warning the community to expect “controlled explosions” through the day.

Number homemade bombs were found inside Carroll’s Versailles residence, WDRB reported.

Carroll remained in the custody of the Fayette County Detention Center on March 26.

He is facing five charges of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, four counts of third-degree use of a weapon of mass destruction, one count of resisting arrest, one count of second-degree fleeing or evading police, one count of first-degree possession of a controlled substance, one count of unlawful possession of a weapon on school property, and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, the Lexington Herald Leader reported.

Carroll will likely face additional charges in connection with the explosives found inside his home.

Carroll’s arrest on UK’s campus came just two days after a mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado left 10 people dead, and one day after a heavily-armed man was arrested in an Atlanta grocery store, the Lexington Herald Leader reported.