Rangers: West Medic Not Linked to Deadly Blast

Aug. 7, 2013
Bryce Reed, the vocal medic, remains in jail, and is expected to plead not guilty to possession of explosives.

The former West paramedic arrested for bomb-making materials was not involved in the deadly fertilizer plant blast.

Texas Rangers have found no evidence that Bryce Reed had anything to do with the incident, McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna announced.

“Based on the review I have completed thus far, I have seen no evidence linking him to the fire and subsequent explosion. But I still have additional material to review,” Reyna told a Waco Tribune reporter. 

The April 17 explosion killed 10 responders and five others.

Reed eulogized his best friend, Cyrus Reed, who died in the explosion. The two are not related.

Reed, a former West paramedic and Abbott volunteer firefighter who he helped evacuate residents near the fertilizer plant, remains incarcerated following a court-ordered mental evaluation in Fort Worth, the paper reported.

Jonathan Sibley, Reed's attorney, said his client looks forward to his day in court, indicated he will plead not guilty.

"Sibley has said he thinks federal authorities arrested Reed 'in a rush to judgment to silence him from the prominent role Reed played initially as a self-appointed spokesman for the city of West and the grieving families of those lost in the blast," according to the Tribune story.

Reed also was vocal criticizing the investigation. 

He was charged three weeks after the explosion with possession of bomb-making materials.

Related

Warren Weidler, Austin Fire Department
Bryan Firefighter/Paramedic Brad Moring stands guard at the plant explosion site
Susan Nicol/Firehouse.com
Most notable in the West fire station are the empty racks where members' gear is gone.

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