A 33-year-old Texas man who set off a bomb in his backyard and plotted to blow up a high school pleaded guilty to possessing weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
On July 26, 2021, Salmanzadeh set off a bomb in the backyard of his Amarillo home. Neighbors heard the explosion and called the police, setting off an investigation that led to the discovery of multiple explosives, a suicide vest, and his plot to blow up a local high school.
He later admitted to investigators that he blew up an Xbox in his backyard with homemade triacetate triperoxide (TATP). TATP is “an extremely unstable explosive that reacts violently to friction and shock,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Salmanzadeh told police he wanted to see how much damage that type of explosion would cause, court documents said.
The defendant confessed to conducting two previous explosions.
“Efran explained that on July 4, 2021, he conducted an explosion that included one pipe bomb,” according to the criminal complaint. “The second explosion occurred around July 15 or 16, 2021, with three pipe bombs.”
Bomb technicians collected TATP residue from the toilet bowl in the defendant’s home. He told police he flushed a “gallon-sized jar” of the explosive down the toilet after they arrived at his home. A PVC pipe discovered in Salmanzadeh’s closet also tested positive for TATP residue. A suicide vest and a nail bomb were found stashed in a dumpster in his alleyway.
Investigators found a video recorded four days earlier of Salmanzadeh threatening to blow up a high school, according to authorities.
“We are going to blast the school,” the defendant said in Farsi.
After making the threat, Salmanzadeh displayed “the nail bomb filled with shrapnel, the suicide vest filled with pipes labeled dynamite, a suitcase filled with container labeled explosives [sic], and a backpack filled with bottles labeled explosives to the camera.”
Videos of the defendant conducting test explosions and journals related to the production of explosives were found during the investigation.
Salmanzadeh said he found all the information he needed to construct TATP and WMDs online.
“He also admitted he used the internet to purchase a plane ticket to California on July 28, 2021, to avoid detection by law enforcement after a bombing,” according to the plea papers.
The judge commended Salmanzadeh’s neighbors for reporting the explosion to the police.
“Armed with internet research, this defendant was able to create homemade explosives capable of wreaking mass casualties—casualties he dreamed of inflicting on innocent high schoolers,” Meacham said. “Without vigilant neighbors who reported the sound of the explosion to authorities and immediate law enforcement intervention, this may have ended in tragedy. Instead, the community is a little bit safer today as this defendant is being held accountable for his criminal activity.”
Salmanzadeh is facing up to life in prison.
