Idaho man arrested after planting IED on railroad car

An Idaho man has been arrested after planting an IED on a parked railroad car, according to officials. The device was safely detonated by a bomb squad.

Officers were dispatched on Wednesday to the 600 block of North 8th Street in Payette, Idaho, following reports of a suspicious person seen near a parked railroad car attempting to light something on fire, according to a statement by the Payette Police Department.

Police located a suspected undetonated Improvised Explosive Device (IED) next to the train car. Officers followed fresh footprints in the snow to a camp trailer parked near a residence in the 600 block of North 8th Street.

The suspect attempted to flee but surrendered to authorities after a brief foot pursuit, police said. He has been identified as 40-year-old Payette resident Brent Sharrai.

Sharrai was arrested on outstanding warrants, with additional charges including possession of a destructive device, possession of a controlled substance, possession of paraphernalia, and resisting and obstructing officers. Federal charges for possession and manufacturing of a destructive device are pending.

Payette Police reported that a bomb squad from nearby Nampa was called to assist in safely handling the device. Union Pacific Railroad was notified, and all trains scheduled to pass through the area were placed on standby for approximately five hours until the scene was declared safe.

The Nampa Bomb Squad used a specialized robot to remove the IED from the train car before safely detonating it. A search warrant executed at Sharrai’s camp trailer uncovered items similar to the device found on the train car.

The incident is under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), with no motive disclosed at this time.