Hazardous Chemicals Found In Various City Dumpsters On Day Of UC Davis Explosion
DAVIS (CBS13) - There is new information following the arrest of a UC Davis researcher as the source of where the chemist-turned-suspect may have gotten the chemicals that caused an explosive at a campus apartment complex.
The facts are coming out slowly, and according to a CBS13 source, on the day the suspect was arrested, materials used to make explosives were found in several dumpsters around Davis. If the chemicals had exploded, the outcome could have been deadly.
David Snyder, the UC Davis researcher with access to hazardous and dangerous materials to make explosives, may have gotten them from his job. According to a CBS13 source, investigators believe some of the chemicals found inside Snyder's apartment came from a UC Davis laboratory.
After the explosion, the source says someone went to Snyder's home before the bomb squad arrived and removed part of the chemicals, only to dispose of them in dumpsters around Davis.
"It's dangerous; it's very, very dangerous," UC Davis graduate student Patrick Wilson said.
Those who were evacuated couldn't believe what CBS13 told them, or that Snyder may have gotten part of the chemicals from a lab on campus.
"It's not something you would expect someone to do that has a Ph.D. in chemistry," said Wilson.
We asked UC Davis if Snyder got the hazardous materials from the university, but they refused to answer the question, saying only that it is part of the ongoing investigation.
How could a researcher be allowed to bring dangerous and hazardous materials home?
"While the police investigation is ongoing, if it becomes apparent that there is more that should be done to help ensure safety on our campus, we are committed to taking all necessary and appropriate steps," a UC Davis spokesperson said.
Now students and families want answers as to whether the university has checks and balances in place to make sure all dangerous and hazardous chemicals are accounted for.
"They need to maybe keep records of that, and what they're doing, and what they are using it for," said student Jenn Clayton. "Especially after this happens, something has to change."
It is possible that someone else could be arrested in connection to this case. Snyder is being held on $2 million bond and is on investigative leave from the university.
