A woman was jailed after police say she build a crude bomb while in a Walmart store and was moments from setting it off, according to reports.
WFLA Channel 8 reports a security guard spotted the woman, identified as Emily Stallard, 37, and prevented her from lighting a shoelace, which was being used as a wick for the crude device. Authorities tell WFLA that Stallard’s young son was next to her as she tried to light the shoelace.
Stallard has been charged with attempted arson of a structure, firebombing, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, child abuse and battery on an officer, the Associate Press reports.
WFLA reports Stallard was seen Saturday night wandering the aisles of the Walmart “aimlessly” for more than an hour. In her cart were several mason jars, nails and denatured alcohol. She reportedly stopped in an aisle and began opening the items, which had not been paid for, and began making the explosive device.
“This woman had all the supplies she needed to cause mass destruction at her disposal,” Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister tells Fox 13. “Had it not been for an alert off-duty law enforcement officer and a watchful security staff at Walmart, she may have followed through with her plans to cause an explosion inside the store.
“I can’t stress this enough: if you see something, say something. You don’t have to tackle a bad guy to be a hero.”
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