On Thursday night, as alumni of all ages began to trickle into William and Mary’s campus for Homecoming weekend, police reported to a parking lot for what they believed was a car fire. Upon arrival, they discovered that the fire was a result of an improvised explosive device. No one was injured in the blast, despite its close proximity to Merchants Square, a popular shopping location in Colonial Williamsburg, and campus buildings such as the Reeves Center and Hunt Hall, both residencies for William and Mary students.
Students were not alerted of Thursday’s events until the following Friday morning when a TribeAlert email was sent out to the student body. This notification came hours after local news stations had already begun to report the incident. Security for large-scale Homecoming events was bolstered in response this past weekend. Police cars and officers were positioned in greater numbers than usual along the Richmond road, where the annual Homecoming parade takes place and the normal path of the parade was shortened. Williamsburg police launched a subsequent investigation in cooperation with local and federal authorities including the Newport News Police Department, Virginia State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI. It was this investigation that determined an IED was the cause of the fires. They determined that the bombing was an isolated incident and is being considered an act of domestic terrorism. Friday evening, W&M Chief of Police Deb Cheesebro informed the student body that an arrest had been made in the case. Williamsburg Police later put out a statement reporting that 30-year-old Gloucester resident Stephen Powers had been arrested at his home under the felony charges of possession of using and explosive device and committing an act of terrorism. A motive has yet to be reported. Despite these charges, there has been radio silence from the White House. President Trump was in Virginia on Saturday, visiting his National Golf Club in Sterling for the third consecutive weekend. On Monday evening, City Police alerted students that a building in Merchant’s Square was being checked for a device and instructed people to stay clear of the area. The search was completed and the area opened back up to the public just an hour later. It has been an eventful weekend for Williamsburg residents and a reminder to students that even the so-called “William and Mary bubble” is not impervious to major crime. Yasmine Palmer
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