ATF: Explosive Device Found in Arkansas Doctor's Car After Blast

[Hepburn]

Source: FOXNews.com



An "explosive device" was found in the car of a prominent Arkansas doctor as authorities investigated the blast outside his home that critically injured him and another person, a spokesman with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms told FOX News.

The explosion happened Wednesday in the driveway of Dr. Trent P. Pierce, the chairman of the Arkansas State Medical Board. He was taken to Regional Medical Center in Memphis, Tenn., where he was listed in critical condition, hospital spokeswoman Sandy Snell said.

The ATF would not confirm what type of device was involved, but said a "bomb truck" is making its way to the scene in West Memphis, Ark.



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,487907,00.html

---

I have been reading on this and there still appears to be confusion as to whether there was anyone else in the car at the time of the blast. Some sources say that this was misreported because the doctor's wife was in the ambulance and had blood on her from her injured husband. Still checking this issue and last I read, the doctor was still in surgery.

Wonder who in the heck would want to take out and allergy doctor? :shrug:

Edit for typo

[Ian David]

1. Maybe it was anti-vaccination people? n/t

[glinda]

2. He is on the Board and who knows what if anything he has to do with abortion or stem cell.

I say tough treatment for "terriorism".

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

3. the antigen gang?

oh wait, this is AR.... the clenis did it?

[WriteDown]

4. Wife....

That is my theory.

[Hepburn]

5. Boy, I hate to agree...

...but that was my first thought ~~ some kind of family problem.

[Warpy]

7. It will be easy to trace if it was

because this was a professional job.

[xchrom]

8. hell hath no fury... nt

[Abacus]

9. Mine is a patient or an idealogue

Edit: I don't think one would use this sort of attack unless they wanted a LOT of attention for them or their issue. A disgruntled wife is unlikely to want either, I think.

[haele]

6. Chairman of the Arkansas State Medical Board...

Motives to look at -

Did he pull someone's license because of malpractice? Did he not pull someone's license when there was an aggrieved party lobbying for that?

What was his stand on abortion and dispensing contraceptives? If he wasn't rabidly anti-either-of-those, any number of groups of wingnuts might target him as an object lesson to others in both politics and medicine.

Perhaps he sided with Insurance companies, For-Profit-Healthcare or Big Pharma in lawsuits.

It comes down to someone hating him or his office enough to go through with the thoughts of spectacular violence.

Haele

[nc4bo]

12. This seems like it kinda/sorta fits one of your descriptions

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3722442&mesg_id=3722906

[rucognizant]

13. CHAIRMAN of the Board!

Did someone die as a result of a decision he made? Denying medical care?
The real health care culprit here is Medical management.......jacking up prices way too high!
( the new look, pro-life protest is so 20th century!)

[Tempest]

10. Allergy is close enough to Abortion

At least to the radical rightwing religious terrorists.

[Stargazer09]

11. Starts with the same letter

And that's about all those people can understand.

[LiberalHeart]

14. Instead of looking at the anti-abortion crowd, maybe we should look at the pro choice folks???

http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/choice-action-center/in_your_state/who-decides/state-profiles/arkansas.html?templateName=lawdetails&issueID=1&ssumID=2472

[w4rma]

15. Why? Does he make decisions on abortions? Do pro-choice advocates have a history of violence? Dumb.

Very dumb.

[Doctor_J]

16. Do you mean anti-choice?

I don't know of anyone who isn't anti-abortion. If you mean the fringe cult who think the government should regulate what procedures doctors can practice on their patients, then you're probably talking about anti-choice nuts. And they're a lot more violence-prone than pro-choicers.

[LiberalHeart]

23. Nope, I meant what I said. Did you read the link?

[Ohio Joe]

28. I'm not following you

The page you link to is an informational page stating the law there. It is not any type of statement regarding their beliefs, it advocates no violence, I see no connection to the story at all except for the state. What are you reading into that page?

[LiberalHeart]

56. The law is imposing on a woman's choice by forcing certain conditions re abortion.

I'm saying that a nutcase could respond to that in much the same way that anti-choice nutcases respond to abortionists. This guy was the head of the medical board and it is the board imposing those restrictions.

[Ohio Joe]

57. I'm not buying that for a second

It's a wicked long stretch. The page is clearly just stating what the current law is there, nothing more. It is not the pro-choice side that has a history of violence and trying to convince people that suddenly they do, at the very least is not going to fly with me. Pure bullshit.

[LiberalHeart]

69. Has nothing to do with which side has a "history" ... we're talking about a crazy act.

Am I offending you because I dare to think it's possible someone in favor of choice could be so evil? This is not an attack on pro-choice folks (I'm one of them). It's speculation about what could have prompted such an attack.

[Ohio Joe]

71. Offending me? No.

Not at all, I don't find it offensive when someone decides to talk out their ass.

[LiberalHeart]

72. Apparently you are emotionally invested in this. Otherwise you wouldn't be so rude.

[Ohio Joe]

75. Not being rude...

Just pointing out that your making shit up.

[Edweird]

17. Fail. The Pro Choicers don't go around killing doctors. It's the fundy asshole zealot 'pro life'

hypocrites that do.

[tkmorris]

18. You do realize how ridiculous that sounds, yes?

[Tempest]

19. They sounded sincere

Which makes their claim all the more ridiculous.

[Lilith Velkor]

59. Well, if you count a 12-year old girl forced to give birth and suffering PPP as "pro-choice," maybe

[Hepburn]

20. Up date ~~ Condition of the Doctor in the blast:

MSNBC spoke with a friend of the Arkansas doctor, Trent Pierce, who was injured when his Lexus SUV exploded in his driveway this morning.

Trent’s friend, Dr. Scott Ferguson, who is at the hospital with Trent, said that Trent is on his way into surgery. Ferguson also said that Trent has metal is his abdomen, eye injuries, facial fractures, and burns.

Although Ferguson was uncertain, he said he thought that Trent was outside of his vehicle when the explosion occurred. He said Trent was found in a flowerbed outside of the house.

Ferguson said no one else was admitted to the emergency room so he does not think anyone else was injured as was previously reported.

http://www.examiner.com/x-3035-Everyday-People-Examiner~y2009m2d4-Car-explosion-in-Arkansas--Foul-play-suspected

Sounds very serious. I hope he will be OK...but eye injuries for an MD? Probably will end his career.

[slackmaster]

21. Aren't explosive devices supposed to kind of, disintegrate in a bombing?

Was there a dud involved?

[Hepburn]

22. I know just about -0- about stuff like that...but what I did find of interest is...

...that supposedly the doctor was OUTSIDE the vehicle when it exploded. As far as I know, usually the bomb goes off when the intended victim starts the cars, makes a turn...or something like that. I may have watched too many movies, but that seems to be how it happens in real life, too. If the car exploded when he was OUTSIDE of it ~~ wouldn't someone have to:

1. Be watching to set it off; or

2. Know his routine down to the second on when he leaves his house?

Seems like whomever did this wanted him hurt and hurt badly. It is hard for me to see some random situation here.

JMHO

[LiberalHeart]

24. Maybe he had a remote starter?

[MadMaddie]

68. Many of the car bombings in the US have involved

someone putting a pressure type bomb under the drivers seat or ignition trigger.

I watch a lot of the cold case and real crime shows and that is usually the way they have done it in the past.

This is a terroristic act plain and simple. This should be a federal crime.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

65. They almost always leave trace evidence.

Residue, fragments, etc.

David

[LiberalHeart]

25. Here's an old DU link that might have a clue...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x5349807

[Hepburn]

26. Holy shit!!

They let that POS keep his license???? :wow:

[Hepburn]

27. Malpractice case appeal against the doctor dismissed 13 days prior to the bomb blast.

The Mx to Dismiss was brought by...yep, you got it...counsel for Dr. Pierce.

Seems awfully related to me since it was brought by an estate ~~ which means, of course, someone died.

Citation: http://courts.arkansas.gov/court_opinions/sc/2009a/20090122/published/08-1476.pdf

[gabby garcia]

29. Doctor Hurt in West Memphis Car Explosion

Source: ABC www.myeyewitnessnews.com

West Memphis, AR - Police are on the scene of a car explosion in West Memphis, AR.

It happened this morning near Avalon and Cooper. We're told a prominent doctor got into his car when it exploded. He was airlifted to The MED for treatment in extreme critical condition.

The doctor is a general practitioner. Police haven't released the name of the doctor. However, the address where the explosion occured matches the address of Dr. Trent Pierce's home or office.

FBI and ATF agents are now on the scene trying to figure out what happened.

Read more: http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/local/story/Doctor-Hurt-in-West-Memphis-Car-Explosion/ud3lninTnUKR3CQPoTWKaQ.cspx

---

???

[Renew Deal]

30. I guess there wasn't any polonium available.

[8 track mind]

31. Considering where this happened,

i would be willing to bet that a militant pro-lifer is behind this. He might have been targeted as a pro-choice doctor. Who knows.

[ferrous wheel]

32. West Memphis Doctor critical after car explodes

Source: MSNBC at first




Read more: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/feb/04/police-investigating-car-explosion-west-memphis/

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Very bizarre. No foul play suspected??

[sinkingfeeling]

33. Here's another link to another story. Was a Lexus SUV.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/04/doctor.car.blast/index.html

[Hepburn]

34. Did you see any of the pictures of the car ~~ a Lexus SUV?

It's a hybrid and from what I have seen on the news, the explosion was only in the engine compartment and it blew forward ~~ the bumper is nearly off and the hood it raised. Really odd looking.

[melm00se]

35. overcharged

batteries can catch fire (this has been seen with laptop batteries) but explosions?

Do lithium or NiMH batteries give off explosive gases (like hydrogen)?

[truthisfreedom]

47. I don't think that either of them give off explosive gases, but concentrating lots of energy in one

small space will almost always create a scenario for fire or explosion. Remember, people's cell phone batteries have exploded.

[leftyladyfrommo]

36. Did he do abortions?

That was my first thought.

[pasto76]

37. DITTO

SGT PASTO

[leftyladyfrommo]

38. Who ever heard of a Lexus just exploading?

That sounds like the mob got him - a TV show.

[Hepburn]

41. Picture of the Lexus...

[guruoo]

55. A pro wouldn't have put it under the engine compartment n/t

[Hassin Bin Sober]

58. Maybe it was the anti-SUV militants?

:hide:

[Hepburn]

39. No ~~ his area of practice deals with allergies/athsma. n/t

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

40. Not likely, he's an asthma specialist

who was appointed to the state medical board by Mike Huckabee.

[Greyskye]

42. "Pierce is a family practitioner specializing in asthma, WMC-TV reported. "

An anti-abortion hit was my first thought as well.

[daleo]

43. Maybe a pro-lifer targetted the wrong car

Or maybe a pro-lifer is mad at him because he did a referral to a doctor who does do abortions.

[catzies]

50. You read my mind!!!!! Dr. Bernard Slepian unavailable for comment. n/t

:grr:

[baldguy]

54. Arkansas, appointed by Fuckin' Huckabee

I don't think so.

[guitar man]

44. At first I thought

...it might be anti-choice nazis, but looking at the type of medicine he practiced, I don't think that's it. Maybe one of the desperate housewives in the neighborhood was tuning the doc's meat-whistle for him and it gave her 'ol man a case of the ass with the doc? :shrug:

[No Elephants]

49. wtf?

[guitar man]

51. sorry,lol

My colloquialisms I use in speaking sometimes find their way through the keyboard :D

translation: The doctor was having an affair with somebody's wife in that quaint little burg and the upset husband planted a bomb in the doctor's car? :shrug:

[No Elephants]

74. Why would you assume an affair with a married woman?

[gabby garcia]

45. more likely a vendetta

seeing as he is the chairman of the Arkansas State Medical Board (the agency that censures bad doctors, and can revoke their license to practice).

[biopowertoday]

46. update---says high explosives were used:..............

Forum Name General Discussion
Topic subject BATF says high exposives involved in W Memphis doc bombing
Topic URL http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4978464#4978464
4978464, BATF says high exposives involved in W Memphis doc bombing
Posted by Stinky The Clown on Wed Feb-04-09 05:46 PM

They say the explosion pattern is unlikely caused by anything on the car (fuel, battery, etc.), and they say they have some evidence of a high explosive that allows them to say it was probably not an accident.

The doc was not an abortion provider, he was in family practice. The family sez there are no known enemies.

(being reported now on MSNBC)

[truthisfreedom]

53. Mistaken identity? Got the wrong car? Same name as someone else?

Jilted ex-military mistress?

[KamaAina]

48. Dr. Pierce is the head of the Arkansas State Medical Board

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090204/ap_on_re_us/car_explosion

WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. – The chairman of the Arkansas State Medical Board was critically injured Wednesday when his car exploded as he was leaving home for work, an attorney said.

Trent P. Pierce was taken to Regional Medical Center in Memphis, Tenn., where he was listed in critical condition, hospital spokeswoman Sandy Snell said.

:scared:

[nc4bo]

52. Professional Drivers Medical Depot

Probably unrelated but I found it interesting.

http://www.pd-md.com/

One of four truck stop medical clinics set up for truck drivers has been hamstrung because a state medical board needs better understanding of the clinic’s procedures and medical supervision, the board’s legal counsel told Land Line Tuesday.

The state board pulled medical licenses for two physician assistants who staffed the Professional Drivers Medical Depot clinic in West Memphis, AR. The clinic is one of four founded by John McElligott, a doctor from Tennessee.

Physician Assistant George Gonzalez’s license was up for review at the Arkansas State Medical Board meeting on Aug. 1, though John Davis, the clinic’s other physician assistant, wasn’t scheduled to appear before the board until October.

In a closed door meeting on Aug. 1, the state board told Gonzalez it was revoking his license, and an official later called Davis to tell him his license had been pulled as well.

“In essence, they tried to shut us down,” McElligott told “Land Line Now” on XM Satellite Radio.

William Trice, the state medical board’s legal counsel, told Land Line the board took issue with the West Memphis clinic’s scope of treatment and supervision by its medical director.

Board members had concerns about the practice and need to know more, Trice said.

http://www.petrotruckstops.com/news_detail.sstg?id=180

PDMD Opens First Clinic at Knoxville Petro

On-Site Clinic Designed Around Needs of Professional Drivers

January 24, 2007 -- Congressman John J. Duncan, Jr. joined Dr. John McElligott, Medical Director / CEO of Professional Drivers Medical Depots (PDMD) and other regional leaders at the grand opening of the company's first health care facility at the Knoxville Petro Stopping Center on January 15, 2007. The clinic is the first of 60 to 80 facilities that PDMD plans to open at truck stops across the nation by 2010.

PDMD is a healthcare network of facilities and hospitals designed to serve professional drivers. PDMD's mission is to improve drivers' health by making high quality healthcare accessible, and the company is achieving that goal by bringing healthcare facilities to travel centers.

John McElligott

http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_news/Daily/2007/Jul07/071607/072007-02.htm

[Hepburn]

60. Medical Up Date:

Dr. Pierce lost his left eye in the bombing. His right eye was operated on in hopes of saving it. He is in "very critical condition," but optimism is high that he will survive. He may be moved to a burn hospital unit in Ohio.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/04/doctor.car.blast/

I am not religious, but I am sending healing thoughts to Dr. Pierce and his family. Hope others will join me with similar thoughts and/or prayers.

[EFerrari]

61. OMG. Thoughts and wishes to the Pierce family. n/t

[Hepburn]

62. Thank you for adding to this...

...the story about Dr. Pierce is the #1 Story on Google News. Seems like this has really caught the attention of our entire nation.

I read a bit more: Seems he went out to start up his Lexus SUV and there was a tire in front of the car. When he moved the tire, apparently the bomb went off and threw him 6 feet in the air and he landed in a flower bed. His wife found him and a passerby called 911.

[EFerrari]

63. One moment you have eyes and the next, you don't.

I hope he pulls though and that they salvage at least one. :(

[Hepburn]

64. My friend and I had a conversation the other day and we both agreed...

...that losing one's eyes would be far worse than losing one's hearing. I cannot imagine not being able to see. I wear hearing aids and I can lip read ~~ and that allows me to function pretty well in a "hearing" world. But losing my eye sight ~~ that is a horrible thought. And this man is an MD ~~ that means an end to his career.

This is so sad.

[EFerrari]

66. My hearing is not great and that bothers me because music is one of my joys.

But I don't know that I could manage losing my eyesight in such a traumatic way. :(

[Hepburn]

67. I know what you mean on the hearing loss...

...and I do agree that the loss of eyesight like what happened to Dr. Pierce is absolutely horrible.

[LiberalHeart]

70. I wonder if it's the burn unit at St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo.

[Hepburn]

73. I have been reading most of the articles and...

...there is no mention of what specific Ohio burn center.

BTW: It looks like he might not be going ~~ one of Dr. Pierce's treating physicians is saying that the burns at first looked worst than they turned out to be. Good news! Also: Dr. P. had more surgery this evening ~~ this time to remove scrapnel from his neck.

[Hepburn]

76. Medical Up Date:

Summary: It looks like so far they were successful in saving Dr. Pierce's right eye. (He lost his left eye in the blast.)

A little bit of good news.

[hunter]

77. My useless speculation is that he's another victim of the drug war.

Something ain't right in Arkansas.

[Hepburn]

78. I am not sure what is going on, but I read a news article where the authorities...

...are warning other MDs in the area to be on the alert.

Another article gives some detail about his injuries. Dr. Pierce was BADLY hurt:

"It was reported moments ago by MSNBC that Dr. Trent Pierce is still in critical condition.

He has lost his left eye. His right eye had to be inflated and they are hoping to be able to save the sight of that eye. He suffers from burns and shrapnel wounds. He was also reported to have a broken leg and wrist."

http://www.examiner.com/x-3035-Everyday-People-Examiner~y2009m2d5-Car-explosion--update-on-Trent-Pierces-condition

I also read that his facial burns are really severe.