A Fort Polk soldier is in custody after allegedly setting a fire in a Louisiana national forest and possessing a bomb in his apartment, according to authorities.
The soldier, whose name has not been released, is confined to his unit as of Thursday, according to a Fort Polk news release.
"At around noon on Wednesday, the soldier allegedly burned an unknown substance in a military training area in the Kisatchie National Forest and fled the scene," the release said. "Due to the vigilance of other soldiers in the area, first responders were called, who later detained the soldier suspected of causing the incident."
The incident set off a chain of events that carried on all afternoon and into the night, including evacuating approximately 100 residents from the Mona Lisa apartment complex in New Llano, Vernon Parish Sheriff Sam Craft told local news station KALB on Wednesday.
Authorities found chlorine during a search of the soldier's car on post, prompting a hazardous material unit response.
"The health and welfare of the people living and working on Fort Polk is of the utmost importance," garrison commander Col. David Athey said in a release. "We'd rather approach an incident such as this with an abundance of caution."
That evening, the Vernon Parish sheriff's office searched the soldier's home.
Despite early reporting that the soldier had bomb-making materials, the Fort Polk fire department and hazardous materials team ruled that out.
"Nothing that was in any means of making a bomb," Craft told local news station KALBon Wednesday. "They did find some items that are of interest to the Fort Polk [Criminal Investigation Command]."
Those items included a homemade explosive, specifically a pipe bomb.
"During the initial search of the apartment, no explosive/deadly materials were located, but during the evidence collecting stage, a pipe bomb was located, along with other materials," New Llano Police Chief Danny Hunt wrote in a Facebook post Wednesday night.
All together, eight law enforcement and emergency departments were involved in the incident, Hunt added.
The suspect was non-cooperative with CID agents and asked for an attorney, Craft said.
The incident is under CID investigation, according to the release.
Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.
