Criminal Investigation Launched Into TX Fertilizer Plant Blast

Local man arrested for possessing a "destructive device"

A criminal investigation has been launched into the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion last month, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. The McLennan County Sheriff's Office and the Texas Rangers are leading the effort.

Early Friday morning, 31-year-old Bryce Ashley Reed of West was arrested for possession of a destructive device. He is being held in federal custody without bond in McLennan County Jail.

There is no official word or any indication that Reed is in any way connected to the West fertilizer plant explosion, which killed 15 and injured 200 more.

Reed was both a volunteer paramedic with West EMS and a volunteer firefighter with the Abbott Fire Department, located about five miles north of West.