July 2019 AST Magazine AST July 2019 Magazine | Page 41

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The evidence was overwhelming,
including identical bomb compo-
nents to the ones used in the devices
and exact copies of the writings that
had been found at the scenes.
July 2019 - Edition 35
“We knew based on all the evi-
dence that he was not done de-
ploying these devices,” Derrick-
son said.
Also among the evidence were two If he had not been caught, there
guns and a type of vest known to would have been more.
be used by suicide bombers.
Ayers was arrested after an ex-
A yers’ computer history showed he haustive month-long investiga-
had self-radicalized, consuming tion, with the combined efforts of
terrorist propaganda from Anwar the Federal Bureau of Investiga-
al-Awlaki, Osama bin Laden, and tion; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobac-
co Firearms and Explosives; An-
others.
derson County Sheriff’s Office,
In total, there were six incidents be-
and numerous law enforcement
tween January 24 and February 24,
agencies from around the State of
2018—three hoax devices and three
South Carolina.
bombs.
The investigation was a race against DNA and other forensic evidence
time, as the FBI’s bomb experts associated Ayers with the various
could see the devices getting more devices.
sophisticated each time.
Additionally, a search of his proper-
“Without the quick work to locate ty produced numerous items con-
and arrest Ayers, the bombings sistent with the manufacture of the
same.
could have been much worse.“
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