Two people were arrested after a bomb was discovered under a news organization’s vehicle in Utah, according to court documents released this week.
The arrest occurred Friday after police in Salt Lake City were dispatched to a report of a suspicious device located under a vehicle owned by KSTU (Channel 13, Fox). The object, reported as an “incendiary device,” was ignited but failed to detonate as designed, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The two suspects — 58-year-old Adeeb Nassir and 31-year-old Adil Justice Ahmed Nassir — were arrested on multiple criminal charges, including threat of terrorism, possessing weapons of mass destruction and attempted arson. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) led the probe into the bomb placed under KSTU’s news vehicle, the station reported on Monday.
A search warrant executed on the home of the two suspects turned up at least two hoax bombs and materials that connected the suspects to the incident involving KSTU’s news vehicle, police said.
A motive for the attempted bombing was not known, though it reportedly occurred while KSTU was engaged in ongoing news coverage of the assassination of conservative activist and podcaster Charlie Kirk, who was gunned down while speaking at an event in Utah last week.
KSTU is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The station brands itself as “Fox 13” to reflect its Fox affiliation, and its newscasts occasionally use packages that are produced and distributed by Fox News Media — a common practice among Fox-affiliated stations — but the station’s editorial output is not influenced by Fox. Scripps and Fox are separate companies.
In a statement, KSTU Station Manager Leona Wood said the broadcast outlet is working closely with law enforcement, and that a motive is still unknown. Wood became KSTU’s station manager in April.
