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Nov 01, 2024

Man charged with leaving remote-controlled explosives at Florida casino

A Florida man has been charged after he allegedly left two improvised explosive devices in bathrooms at the Hard Rock Casino in Tampa. Bryan Robert Eckley, 46, of Tampa, was arrested Wednesday and

A Florida man has been charged after he allegedly left two improvised explosive devices in bathrooms at the Hard Rock Casino in Tampa.

Bryan Robert Eckley, 46, of Tampa, was arrested Wednesday and charged with two counts of making, possessing, throwing, projecting, placing, or discharging any destructive device, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced Thursday.

Eckley allegedly left two remote-controlled improvised explosive devices inside two male restrooms at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino on Sept. 29, FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass said in a news conference.

One of the devices was found by an employee, who reported it, and the casino was eventually evacuated out of caution.

The Seminole Police Department and Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad responded to the scene and deemed both devices as safe.

The investigation found that three days prior to the discovery of the devices, a man was seen behaving “very suspiciously” at the casino on Sept. 25. That man had been driving a white Ford Explorer with unique characteristics, Glass said.

Investigators determined that Eckley had purchased that vehicle under an alias, used a burner cellphone and paid cash for it.

Authorities also learned that Eckley had been arrested by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office two days prior to the discovery of the devices on Sept. 27 for aggravated assault with a firearm, Glass said.

Evidence from that case was compared to the casino case, and Glass it yielded a match.

“I can’t underscore enough that this individual Mr. Eckley, tried everything he could to conceal his identity. He used a mask … he used an alias, he used several burner cell phones, he used cash transactions, more importantly the Seminole Hard Rock has a great, great video system and you can see him clearly altering the way he walks throughout the casino to try and throw off any lead that we can garner that way,” Glass said.

The incident is still under investigation and it's not clear what motivated Eckley to leave the explosives in the casino. =

NBC News has reached out to an attorney for Eckley for comment.

Marlene Lenthang is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.