Montgomery, Alabama – Authorities are seeking a person of interest linked to the explosion of an explosive device outside the office of Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall over the weekend. The incident occurred just before 3:45 a.m. on Saturday in downtown Montgomery, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA).
No injuries or damage to the buildings were reported as a result of the detonation. The package found on Monday was confirmed to be the same device that was detonated on Saturday, investigators stated.
Marshall mentioned on Monday that no staff or personnel were harmed by the explosion and declined to provide further comments. Surveillance footage released on Wednesday shows a masked male walking on a sidewalk minutes after the explosion took place.
Following the incident, the FBI has launched a website for tips related to the explosion, although investigators have not disclosed a possible motive for the incident. The detonation occurred after Marshall announced that he would not prosecute providers of in vitro fertilization or families utilizing their services, which followed a ruling by Alabama’s Supreme Court regarding frozen embryos being considered children under state law.
The decision from the Supreme Court was in response to wrongful death cases involving three couples whose frozen embryos were destroyed in an accident at an Alabama fertility clinic. However, the specifics of the incident at Marshall’s office remain under investigation as authorities search for the person of interest tied to the explosion.