Records May Link UNC Alumnus, Devices

But University Police Chief Derek Poarch said Thursday that he could not confirm a connection between the two cases at that time.

Christopher McMillan, 37, of 603 Fairfield Road in Durham, was injured Tuesday when a small bomb exploded in his hand at a Sprint regional office in Franklin County. McMillan, a 1986 UNC graduate, was arrested and charged by federal agents Wednesday.

According to an affidavit by John Duke, special agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the bomb that injured McMillan bears great similarity to the device detonated by State Bureau of Investigation officers on campus Monday.

"A bomb essentially identical to the bomb which was rendered safe by explosive technicians at Sprint offices was found on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on August 27, 2001," the affidavit states.

University police officials have not confirmed that the object found at UNC was a bomb of any type. The device, which SBI officials are currently examining, was described by Poarch on Monday only as a "five-inch metal pipe capped on both ends."

The bomb recovered at Sprint is described in the court records as a "pipe bomb constructed of ... galvanized pipe with end caps affixed to both ends."

WTVD first reported the possible connection Wednesday night. When contacted both Wednesday night and again on Thursday, Poarch said there were no new developments in the ongoing investigation.

Duke also wrote in the affidavit that the time at which the device was discovered at UNC makes it possible for McMillan to be involved. "Additionally, it has been discovered that Mr. McMillan was late for work that Monday morning. He came to work apx. 11:19 a.m., and the UNC bomb was recovered apx. the same time that morning, 11:03 a.m," the affidavit states.

The court documents also state that McMillan's cubicle at work contained "a plethora of UNC (paraphernalia) to include posters, books and listings of athletic scores." The paraphernalia were taken into evidence by ATF officials.

Bomb-making materials were also discovered in McMillan's cubicle and at his home in Durham, according to the court records. James Mercer, resident agent in charge of the Raleigh ATF office, said the investigation into the Sprint bombing is still ongoing. "Basically what you see in the affidavit is all we can say," he said. "Anything is possible ... we're taking this one step at a time."

But Poarch said he had not yet received any information that convinced him of a connection between the two incidents. "Anybody that takes that piece of information to make a connection to our case is speculating far beyond what's reasonable, in my opinion."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.