On Sunday evening, shoppers at Eagle Ridge Mall in Lake Wales, Florida, were evacuated after two explosive devices were detonated at the mall. Police responded to an emergency call from the mall and discovered smoke coming out of a service corridor near the mall entrance. Fortunately, there were no reports of injuries.
When emergency officials entered the area, they found a backpack and at least two more IEDs (improvised explosive devices) inside the corridor. Lake Wales Police Deputy Chief Troy Schulze described the devices to CNN as being a type of flare, inside a PVC pipe and then wrapped in electric tape. Schulze further stated, “There is nothing at this time to indicate this act was terrorism. At this time, we are checking video surveillance cameras.”
Schulze would not label the mall bombing a terrorist act because “We don’t know what the person was trying to achieve.”
The FBI responded to the scene to assist in the investigation. At this time, law enforcement officers around the country have been put on alert for a suspect described as a middle-aged White male with a heavy or stocky build who was wearing a gray shirt and gray hat.
Incidents of hate crimes and murders have increased under President Trump, with the vast majority of incidents being attributed to White males.
