A male suspect was arrested in Grand Chute, Wisconsin on Tuesday in connection with the bombing of a local Planned Parenthood clinic.
On Sunday night, a bomb was placed on the windowsill of a Planned Parenthood clinic -- one of the three out of 27 Planned Parenthood clinics in Wisconsin that offer abortion services. The bomb went off and sparked a small fire at the clinic, which damaged one of the exam rooms. No one was hurt.
"Following a report by a witness that a white, SUV type vehicle was seen leaving the Planned Parenthood area at the same time flames were also observed at the building, investigators were able to corroborate this information after viewing security video from the location," Grand Chute Police Sgt. Greg Mohr said in a press release.
The vehicle, which had "distinctive markings," was involved in a traffic accident near the clinic after the bomb was reported and had to be towed away. Using information collected from that traffic accident, the police were able to identify the driver, whose physical description "matched physical characteristics of a male subject observed on the security video provided by Planned Parenthood," the press release said.
Police located the suspect on Sunday night and have detained him at Outagamie County Jail. They did not release details about his age or appearance and said no charges have been filed.
“As a trusted nonprofit health care provider, patient health and safety is our top priority. We applaud law enforcement who were able to work so quickly to apprehend a suspect. Violence in our society should never be tolerated," Teri Huyck, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, said in a statement. "We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the law enforcement agencies working with us to ensure Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin continues to be a safe and trusted health care provider for Wisconsin women and families.”
UPDATE: 5:15 p.m. -- According to information obtained by Talking Points Memo, the suspect who was arrested is 50-year-old Francis Gerald Grady. Grand Chute, Wis. Police Chief Greg Peterson said "there's a strong link" between Grady and the bombing, but they haven't been able to prove it because the footage obtained from Planned Parenthood's security camera was so blurry.
“It strikes me that it’s a male and you can determine some things about body type and things like that,” Peterson told TPM. “Unfortunately, the video doesn’t provide a face shot or anything we can look at with certainty and say that this is the person.”