BULLETIN: Suspect Captured In Colorado Pipe-Bomb Case; Earl Albert Moore Nabbed By Boulder Police Department; Records Show He Was Released From Federal Prison Less Than Two Weeks Ago

CAPTURED: Earl Albert Moore: Source: FBI.

BULLETIN: A man who spent time in federal prison for bank robbery and is believed to have left a pipe bomb and two propane tanks at a Colorado shopping mall last week has been captured by the Boulder Police Department at a grocery store, the FBI said.

Earl Albert Moore, 65, had become the subject of a nationwide manhunt. Records show that Moore was released from federal prison only 13 days ago. The FBI described him prior to his capture as “armed and dangerous”  with “an extensive criminal background.”

The bomb was found at Southwest Plaza Mall in Jefferson County on April 20, a week after Moore was released from prison. Because the date the bomb was found coincided with the anniversary date of the 1999 massacre at nearby Columbine High School, the public initially feared the two events may be linked.

In a brief announcement today, the FBI did not comment on any motive for the mall incident. Officials have described the case as one that involved the attempted placing of a “destructive device.”

The FBI provided updates over the weekend, including Easter Sunday. The agency said yesterday that “there has been no discovery, at this point, of any connection between the Southwest Plaza Mall” and the Columbine case.

Twelve students and one teacher were killed at Columbine on April 20, 1999. At least two dozen people were injured in the attacks by students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who placed propane bombs in the school and armed themselves with guns.

Harris and Klebold committed suicide after carrying out the attacks.

Although the FBI — as of the time of this post — has not spoken to Moore’s motive, it is a virtual certainty that his prison record will be studied for any clues about the mall incident. He has used several aliases, including John Lindzy, Earl Buchanan, Morelli Buchanon, Donald Morelli and Gary Steele, the FBI said.