Reaction to the Crawford Street Explosion

On Friday morning, October 17th, a bomb was detonated at the law firm of McCamy, Phillips, Tuggle, and Fordham on Crawford Street in Dalton.  78-year old Lloyd Cantrell detonated the device after trying and failing to drive his explosive-laden SUV into the law office.  Cantrell was killed in the explosion.  Four other individuals in the building were injured.  They were all transported from the scene by EMS.  One patient was admitted to the Hamilton Medical Center, and another was airlifted to a burn center in Augusta.  The other two patients were treated and released from the Hamilton Medical Center.

The Dalton Police Department was quick to respond to the incident.  An officer arrived at the firm after the initial 911 call of a disturbance at the firm.  At least one witness at the scene said the quick response of police could have kept Mr. Cantrell from detonating the materials in his truck.  After Cantrell exploded his bomb behind the building, additional officers secured the area around the law firm, locking down nearby City Park Elementary School and eventually evacuating the students to First Baptist Church.  The Dalton Fire Department also responded quickly, with Station #1 just two blocks from the scene.  Whitfield County's Emergency Management Agency responded to the scene with its Mobile Command Unit.  Deputies from the Whitfield County Sherriff's Office responded to the scene.  The GBI's bomb squad responded to the scene, eventually removing explosives from Mr. Cantrell's vehicle using a robot.  The FBI and ATF also sent agents to the scene.  A fire eventually flared up inside the building before the Dalton Fire Department was cleared to enter by the bomb squad.  Within an hour, the DFD had the blaze under control.  Dalton's Red Cross was also played an invaluable support role, providing meals to more than 100 first responders and volunteers at the scene, as well as approximately 800 City Park School staff and students at First Baptist.

Many different individuals from many different agencies worked together seamlessly in the response to this emergency, and the Dalton Police Department thanks all individuals who worked to keep a bad situation from becoming much worse.  Our thoughts are with the families, and we wish all those injured a speedy recovery.

Evidence collected at the scene Friday night has been taken to the GBI's crime lab for analysis. The incident is still under investigation.  The investigation is a joint effort between the Dalton Police Department and the FBI Conasauga Safe Streets Task Force stationed in Dalton.

Below: The Dalton Police Department, Dalton Fire Department and other public safety agencies respond to the explosion on Crawford Street, and investigators examine the damage to the law firm building (click thumbnails for a larger version of the image).

Comments

[Tonya]

I live in the county but want to say a huge THANK YOU to the city officers and other support personnel. I think that things have been handled really well and also applaud Chief Parker for his work as well. It was nice to hear from him and not just the spokesperson for the city.

My prayers are with the families that have been affected during this tragedy.