Police Arrest Hopkinton Man in Explosives Incident
By Cynthia Drummond for BRVCA
March 4th 2024
HOPKINTON – More than 100 people called the Hopkinton Police early Sunday evening to report several loud explosions that originated in Hopkinton but were heard as far away as Richmond, Charlestown and Westerly. As the volume of calls quickly overwhelmed the telephone lines, including the 911 emergency line, police located the source of the explosions and arrested Clark’s Falls resident, Daniel Bill.
A Flood of Calls
Hopkinton Police Chief Mark Carrier said the town posted an appeal on social media on Sunday evening, assuring residents that they were safe and asking them not to call the police.
“At 5:26 on a Sunday afternoon our dispatch received over 100 phone calls in a short amount of time,” he said. “We are a small community, small dispatch center. We have one person working two phone lines, and also a 911 line. Every single phone line was lit up. This poor dispatcher working that night, he couldn’t answer the phone fast enough.”
Carrier noted that residents needing emergency assistance were unable to get through because the volume of calls about the explosions had jammed the phone lines.
“Anybody else that’s needing any type of assistance, they’re having a heart attack, an accident, how are you going to call in when we’re getting bombarded,” he said. “It was so problematic that we asked our social media guy, Detective [John] Forbes to put up a post. He was off. …That’s why that posting was put up, not to say ‘hey listen, don’t bother us. It’s Sunday afternoon. We’re trying to watch TV.’ It’s because he legitimately couldn’t answer the phone fast enough.”
Police traced the explosions to a farm at 34 Clark’s Falls Road, where they arrested 20-year-old Daniel Bill.
“We had probable cause, right away last night, to make an arrest,” Carrier said Monday. “We arrested a 20-year-old resident, Daniel Bill, and we’re charging him with one count of felony detonating of explosive devices. …With the assistance of the Rhode Island State Fire Marshall’s Office and the Rhode Island Bomb Squad and the Ashaway Fire Department, there were no injuries, gladly to report, no property damage, gladly to report. This is a farm, which is a good thing, but the problem I have as the Police Chief is, when you’re setting off explosive devices that are so powerful that people in Westerly and Charlestown and Richmond are hearing it and everybody has to call 911 to figure out what that was, and make sure everybody is safe, it’s going to the extreme.”
What is Tannerite?
Invented by Daniel Jeremy Tanner in 1996, Tannerite is legal in Rhode Island, and can be purchased by people over the age of 18. It is what is known as a “binary explosive,” because it is not explosive on its own, and must be struck by a high-velocity bullet to detonate. It is sometimes used at shooting ranges to make targets explode.
“How you detonate Tannerite, is, by the manufacturer’s recommendations, is to shoot a projectile into it,” Carrier said. “Tannerite has been out for a number of years. I am sure Tannerite has been used in the Town of Hopkinton a number of times throughout the years.”
Incident Still Under Investigation
Sunday’s incident begs the question, if Tannerite has been used before in Hopkinton, why did it provoke such a reaction this time?
“I would say that the individuals using this weren’t following the manufacturer’s recommendations of usage,” Carrier said. “It’s still under investigation with the state Fire Marshall’s office, the Bomb Squad and our detectives. … There’s no way we’d get that many calls on that substance. It had to be used with something to make the effects a little more. There’s a number of ways you can do that.”
Daniel Bill was arraigned and released on $1,000 personal recognizance. He was not alone at the time of his arrest, and Carrier said others might be charged.
“The investigation is ongoing and it’s possible more arrests are going to come of this,” he said.