A woman who had a child with her inside a Tampa Walmart is accused of collecting items from store shelves to make a bomb, authorities said.
Emily Rae Stallard, 37, was arrested after a security guard noticed her “wandering aimlessly through the aisles for more than an hour” and inspecting items such as nails, a Mason jar and denatured alcohol, according to a report by WFLA-Channel 8.
An arrest report stated that the guard, along with an off-duty wildlife officer, stopped her right before she lit a wick, the TV station reported.
Deputies say Stallard, of Tampa, spit on them as she was being put inside the patrol car.
The incident occurred just before 6 p.m. Saturday, WTSP quoted the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office as saying.
The store is located at 2701 Fletcher Avenue.
“This woman had all the supplies she needed to cause mass destruction at her disposal. Had it not been for an alert off-duty law enforcement officer and a watchful security staff at Walmart, she may have followed through with her plans to cause an explosion inside the store,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said, according to WTSP.
Stallard was arrested Saturday and booked Sunday on $8,500 bond on charges of attempted arson of a structure, fire bombing, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, child abuse and battery on a law enforcement officer, Hillsborough jail records show. She remained jailed as of Tuesday morning, jail records indicate.
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