Officials Find Bomb Cache After Gunfight With Georgia Man

ROOPVILLE, Ga. —  A cache of 16 bombs was found in the home of a theft suspect who was wounded in a gun battle with sheriff’s deputies Friday.

There was no indication that Aubrey Mark Turner had any connection with the recent bombings at an abortion clinic and a gay and lesbian bar in Atlanta or with the bombing at Centennial Olympic Park last July, officials said.

“There is no reason for us to believe that it’s linked to the Atlanta bombings,” said FBI spokesman Jay Spadafore.

Sheriff Tony Reeves said Turner allegedly had stolen some propane tanks from a grocery store about 5 a.m. EST. Deputies used the store owner’s description and found the suspect’s truck at a nearby home in Roopville, a town of less than 300 people about 48 miles southwest of Atlanta.

The deputies found Turner hiding in some bushes and he began firing at the officers, who returned fire, striking him in the arm before taking him into custody.

Turner, 31, was treated at a hospital and taken to jail. No bail was immediately set.

Turner was charged with aggravated assault on police officers and theft, according John Bankhead, a spokesman for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

He said other charges were pending in connection with the bombs, which include one metal pipe bomb, two large bombs in plastic PVC pipe, eight smaller PVC pipe bombs and four other bombs in canisters used for holding carbon dioxide. Authorities also found material to make other bombs, he said.