Project Megiddo
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An attic fire in a Norco home led to the discovery of about 100 guns, at least 1 million rounds of ammunition and an underground tunnel, local and federal law enforcement officials said today.
The man who lived in the house in the 1800 block of Pali Drive struggled with authorities about 3:30 p.m. yesterday, was taken into custody and placed on a 72-hour psychiatric hold, according to Riverside County sheriff's Investigator Jerry Franchville.
The resident, who lived alone, was reluctant to leave the burning house at first, then started fighting with sheriff's deputies when they arrived, Franchville said.
"He was physically detained," he said.
Once the fire was put out, authorities noticed a large number of weapons and a huge cache of ammunition, mostly in the garage, Franchville said.
In the garage, firefighters also found a tunnel leading under the house, Norco Fire Department Battalion Chief Ron Knueven said.
"We haven't gone down into it," he said. "What we've been told so far is that it goes under the house. According to a family member, it goes under the garage, then makes a 90-degree turn to the right and goes under the rest of the house."
The suspect's name was being withheld, Franchville said, because of limitations placed on the release of information about people under medical care in 2003 by the national Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
The cache of ammo was believed to be largest ever seized in the county, he said. It was unclear if any of the weapons were illegal to own, Franchville said.
Several other homes in the area were evacuated "to make sure that we don't have anything that could be ... a dangerous airborne or maybe explosive," he said.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
http://ktla.trb.com/news/ktla-weapons,0,3065900.story?coll=ktla-newsspecial3-1
The man who lived in the house in the 1800 block of Pali Drive struggled with authorities about 3:30 p.m. yesterday, was taken into custody and placed on a 72-hour psychiatric hold, according to Riverside County sheriff's Investigator Jerry Franchville.
The resident, who lived alone, was reluctant to leave the burning house at first, then started fighting with sheriff's deputies when they arrived, Franchville said.
"He was physically detained," he said.
Once the fire was put out, authorities noticed a large number of weapons and a huge cache of ammunition, mostly in the garage, Franchville said.
In the garage, firefighters also found a tunnel leading under the house, Norco Fire Department Battalion Chief Ron Knueven said.
"We haven't gone down into it," he said. "What we've been told so far is that it goes under the house. According to a family member, it goes under the garage, then makes a 90-degree turn to the right and goes under the rest of the house."
The suspect's name was being withheld, Franchville said, because of limitations placed on the release of information about people under medical care in 2003 by the national Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
The cache of ammo was believed to be largest ever seized in the county, he said. It was unclear if any of the weapons were illegal to own, Franchville said.
Several other homes in the area were evacuated "to make sure that we don't have anything that could be ... a dangerous airborne or maybe explosive," he said.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
http://ktla.trb.com/news/ktla-weapons,0,3065900.story?coll=ktla-newsspecial3-1
