Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on May 30, 2024

Nearly three dozen completed explosive devices and materials used to make explosives were found in the possessions of a Pittsburgh man who is accused of inscribing a hate symbol on the doors of a synagogue last month, Pittsburgh police say.

Police charged William Edwin Murray, 33, April 10 with ethnic intimidation, institutional vandalism and criminal mischief after staff at Shaare Torah Synagogue in Squirrel Hill reported April 8 that Murray had inscribed a possible Ku Klux Klan symbol on the synagogues doors.

Members of the Pittsburgh police bomb squad and FBI agents went to Murrays apartment building in the 5800 block of Forbes Ave. on April 26 in response to a report of suspicious powders in Murrays belongings, according to a criminal complaint.

Murray had been evicted from his apartment on April 22 and his belongings had been moved into storage in the basement.

Glass jars with unknown liquids and bags labeled as sulfur powder, aluminum powder, potassium nitrate and air float charcoal were found, police said in the complaint.

According to the complaint, aluminum powder is one of the most common precursors of explosives and sulfur powder, potassium nitrate and charcoal can be combined to make black powder. Aluminum powder and ammonium nitrate can also be combined to make an explosive.

A further search of storage lockers found a large amount of suspected ammonium nitrate, another explosive precursor. Bags containing flash powder, a commonly made homemade explosive, were also found, the complaint states.

Cardboard tubes with caps and fuses were found and treated as explosive devices, police said. Bags of empty cardboard tubes, food dye, gold glitter, bags of fuses and caps, and hot glue sticks were also recovered, police said.

Four jars of unknown liquids, two strips of an unknown green tape or putty, a bag containing fuse wrapped in foil and a gray powder and numerous commercial explosives were also recovered, police said.

Police determined that 32 separate and completed devices were recovered and later destroyed. Nine of them were sampled, the complaint states.

Police took Murray in for questioning May 1 after he was seen on the Murray Avenue Bridge in Greenfield. He agreed to speak with officers without an attorney, the complaint states.

Asked about the explosive materials in his former storage locker, Murray told police he uses them to make fireworks and light displays, according to the complaint. He said fireworks is his hobby, denied making bombs and said he would never use the materials to harm people or places.

Murray said chemical combinations seen on his refrigerator were snippets of chemical compounds he remembered from his 10th grade chemistry class.

Police released Murray after ending the interview, the complaint states.

Police concluded Murray had the materials needed to make more explosive devices. The improper storage of the materials posed a significant risk to the building and its occupants because, if ignited, they could have caused a significant fire.

Murray is unable to safely detonate the devices in the area of his apartment, and transporting or storing them is also illegal, the complaint states.

Murray faces 34 charges, including two felony counts with the rest being misdemeanors.

Murray was arrested Thursday, police said. He was arraigned early Friday morning, according to court records. He was denied bail and sent to the Allegheny County Jail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 4.

Brian C. Rittmeyer is a TribLive reporter covering news in New Kensington, Arnold and Plum. A Pittsburgh native and graduate of Penn State University's Schreyer Honors College, Brian has been with the Trib since December 2000. He can be reached at brittmeyer@triblive.com.

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Explosives found in belongings of Pittsburgh man accused of vandalizing synagogue - TribLIVE

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