A man wearing body armor is accused of throwing an explosive device at the Santa Maria courthouse security entrance on Wednesday, the day he was scheduled to be arraigned on a gun-related felony charge.
Six people suffered injuries, including burns, in the explosion, and were treated and released from Marian Regional Medical Center.
After the blast, the suspect, Nathaniel James McGuire, 20, of Santa Maria, tried to enter his car in the parking lot, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
He was detained by a member of the court’s security firm, a sheriff’s deputy and California Highway Patrol officers at the scene, Undersheriff Craig Bonner said.
McGuire was wearing the armor under his jacket, and he had no injuries from the explosion, Bonner said.
McGuire had an appearance scheduled for Wednesday morning in arraignment court related to a July 28 arrest for carrying a concealed, loaded firearm that was not registered to him, Bonner said.
“Through their investigation, detectives learned that McGuire’s motivation appeared to have stemmed from a recent arrest by the Sheriff’s Office,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Raquel Zick said.
The Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation will explore all possible angles, but it appears to be a “local incident committed by a local individual” with a personal grievance related to a recent arrest, Bonner said.
“We do not believe there is an immediate community concern at this point,” he said.
The Explosion
At about 8:45 a.m., McGuire allegedly entered the court facility at 312 E. Cook St. and “threw a bag at the screening station,” and the bag exploded, Bonner said.
McGuire reportedly shouted anti-government obscenities, according to witnesses. An attorney standing outside the building said he heard a boom, then saw smoke blowing out of the building as people soon followed.
“It was certainly different from the run-of-mill Wednesday,” defense attorney Michael Scott said, noting the quick action by the law enforcement trio to apprehend McGuire.
Ambulances transported four people to the hospital and another person went on their own, Bonner said.
The hospital reported six patients total from the incident, and said they were in “good” or “fair” condition Wednesday afternoon.
Bonner said they had all been treated and released by 4 p.m.
No court employees were injured in the incident, and it appears the patients were all people attending court proceedings, Superior Court Executive Officer Darrel Parker said.
The Investigation
Bomb squads from the Sheriff’s Office and FBI checked for additional unexploded devices at the courthouse, McGuire’s car, and his Santa Maria home on Henry Street, Bonner said.
McGuire reportedly lives in a unit at the Montiavo Apartments off Bradley Road, where yellow caution tape cordoned off a section at the complex’s northern section Wednesday.
Law enforcement closed several blocks in Santa Maria as investigators and bomb squads combed the area for hours. The roadblocks were cleared shortly after 6 p.m.
Superior Court buildings were evacuated and nearby homes, businesses and St. Mary of the Assumption School were closed for the day.
The city of Santa Maria closed City Hall and several nearby city offices as a precaution.
The Santa Maria Field Office for the Department of Motor Vehicles sits within the roped off area and was apparently closed.
Santa Maria city offices will reopen Thursday, officials said.
The Santa Maria Superior Court will be closed Thursday so investigators can continue their work, Parker said. It will also be closed Friday for a state holiday.
Parker said Superior Court takes security very seriously, and will review this incident to see if additional steps are necessary.
“The system did work,” Bonner said, in that the suspect did not get past the security screening checkpoint.
People entering the court complex in Santa Maria, as well as the facilities in Santa Barbara and Lompoc, go through security screening, including walking through metal detectors and having bags put through X-ray machines.
Court officials could not say yet whether the explosive device damaged the security screening equipment.
Suspect Booked into Santa Maria Jail
McGuire was booked into the Northern Branch Jail in Santa Maria on suspicion of attempted murder, using an explosive device in an attempt to kill someone, and possession of an explosive device, Bonner said.
He remained in custody without bail.
For now, he’s being charged locally, but a decision in the future could lead to federal charges.
Investigators are checking with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department to see if McGuire might be connected to several recent arson fires, Bonner added.
FBI Los Angeles Special Agent in Charge Ted Docks said the agency opened an investigation into the incident, and McGuire has no known ties to terrorist groups.
Anyone with information about McGuire or this incident can call the Sheriff’s Office tipline at 805.681.4171 or the FBI tipline at 1.800.CALL.FBI.
Video from Witnesses
Video from the aftermath of the explosion shows several men in suits dragging McGuire along the sidewalk outside the court building, with sheriff’s deputies and Santa Maria police also on the scene.
They appear to be law enforcement personnel who often wear suits to Superior Court hearings rather than uniforms when testifying for a case or assigned as the investigating officer in a trial.
KEYT reporters talked to the man who took the video, Adrian Arredondo, who remarked on the amount of firearm ammunition he saw fall away from McGuire as he was dragged along the sidewalk and arrested.
The video captured the sounds of building alarms going off, sirens from responding emergency vehicles, and the suspect yelling, including, “You f—–g traitors.”
Witnesses remarked that the man threw a bomb at the court, “where everyone goes in.”