The FBI says a man killed by agents in Belton, Missouri, on Tuesday night was a terrorist suspect who was actively planning to bomb a hospital amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The suspect, 36-year-old Timothy Wilson, was killed by FBI agents while picking up what he believed to be a bomb for use in the attack, the FBI announced in a press release on Wednesday.
The suspect was motivated "by racial, religious, and anti-government animus" and had been "the subject of a months-long domestic terrorism investigation," according to the FBI. No other details regarding the suspect's motive were provided.
Amid the government's efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus, "Wilson decided to accelerate his plan to use a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) in an attempt to cause severe harm and mass casualties,” the FBI alleges. "Wilson considered various targets and ultimately settled on an area hospital in an attempt to harm many people, targeting a facility that is providing critical medical care in today's environment."
The FBI says the suspect was being monitored by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force while actively working to acquire materials to carry out the attack. While executing a probable cause warrant, in coordination with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri, FBI agents attempted to arrest the armed suspect on Tuesday night. The suspect was shot and later died from his injuries at a nearby hospital. No law enforcement officers or civilians were injured in the incident, KSHB 41 reported.