PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – A 38-year-old man was arrested Thursday after police briefly closed Interstate 5 on Saturday night in Portland due to a “suspicious device,” according to the Portland Police Bureau (PPB).
Alexander Wick was charged with unlawful manufacture of a destructive device, unlawful possession of a destructive device, first-degree attempted arson, three counts of first-degree criminal mischief, menacing, unlawful use of a weapon, menacing, and second-degree disorderly conduct.
Wick was arrested after a search warrant was served at about 1:25 p.m. Thursday on Northeast 15th Avenue in the Sabin neighborhood.
Saturday at about 7 p.m. on I-5 at the Northeast Falling Street pedestrian bridge
, Wick was reportedly throwing construction cones, boards with nails sticking out, and other objects into traffic, and slashing the tires of vehicles when the drivers stopped. He also had a large stop sign on a portable stand.
Wick reportedly threatened drivers with a screwdriver and claimed he had a bomb.
Officers searching the area found a bucket with a possible explosive device inside.
Because of the significant possible danger, I-5 had to be closed to all traffic at about 9:20 p.m. it was closed in both directions for almost one hour.
The PPB bomb disposal team responded, and PPB said they did what was necessary to ensure the device was not dangerous; no further information was provided on the details of how it was done.
The investigation found the device was likely an improvised explosive.
Wick fled the scene and was not initially found, but was later identified by a detective.
No one was injured in the incident.
Meaghan Sutton lives near the home where the search warrant was issued and said she was shocked to hear about the severity of the charges in the typically quiet Northeast Portland neighborhood.
“I started putting context clues together, saw the bomb squad, vests, K-9 units, and it literally looked like federal officers that were surrounding,” Sutton said. “So, this is something big. This is something bigger than we were all thinking.”
PPB is not releasing information about evidence found at the house, but there were no viable explosive devices found, and they have no indications that the suspect placed any explosives anywhere else.
Police say there is no ongoing danger to the community, but the incident stirred up some uneasiness on an otherwise peaceful day in Portland.
“For that to happen to this extent, to this magnitude, that was a little earth-shattering,” Sutton said. “I’m relieved, pretty shook that was happening in my own neighborhood when I say it was right outside my house, it was right outside my house.”
PPB believes that people with video of the incident left the scene without providing their footage or contact information, and they ask that if anyone has video evidence or eyewitness accounts of the incident, and have not already provided those to police, to contact Detective Meredith Hopper at
[email protected]
and reference case number 25-158213.
