No injuries in blast near Honors College; suspects not UA students

An explosive detonated near the Honors College yesterday disrupted foot traffic on campus but caused no injuries, police said.

Two 18-year-old men, Francisco Joel Torres and Yoel S. Caballero, both of Tucson, were later arrested in connection with the explosion.

Police said the men were in a car between the College of Music and the Honors College, 1017 N. Vine Ave., about 12:30 p.m. when an explosive device was thrown from the moving vehicle, said Sgt. Eugene Mejia, University of Arizona Police Department spokesman.

It appears the explosion was a random act with no specific target, Mejia said.

"There were no students in the immediate vicinity of the explosion," Mejia said.

The size and nature of the explosive is not being released, but students in the area described the blast as "deafening."

"I was walking over to Harvill, and I heard a loud noise," said Alexa Zerwas, an accounting freshman who was waiting to get her car out of the crime scene. "It sounded like a rifle shot right behind me."

No students were hurt in the blast and no property was damaged.

Josh Fields/Arizona Daily Wildcat University of Arizona Police Department crime prevention officer Chris Scheopner takes a statement from a witness outside of Manzanita-Mohave Residence Hall yesterday afternoon. Officers reported to the residence hall after they received a call about a loud boom and a suspicious package in the alley.

Joey Topmiller, a musical theatre junior, was an eyewitness at the scene.

Topmiller told officers an explosive was ejected from a silver Nissan Altima, which drove away casually after the explosive was thrown.

"The witness described a silver vehicle with two occupants driving through the alleyway and provided a license plate number," Mejia said.

Officers taped off the area behind the Music building, which is adjacent to the Manzanita-Mojave Residence Hall, preventing some students from having access to their cars and bicycles until the area could be cleared. Access to adjacent buildings was not affected by the investigation.

Bomb technicians from the Tucson Police Department helped gather evidence that led them to a residence on the South Side.

Police set up surveillance there and followed an occupant of the residence to another location.

Torres and Caballero were detained when they were seen in the suspect vehicle. The two are not UA students, Mejia said.

Both men were booked into Pima County Jail, and each was charged with one count of misconduct involving weapons and one count of depositing explosives, which are Class 4 felonies.

Torres was also charged with four counts of misconduct involving weapons after a search of his home turned up more explosives.

Mejia said although no one was hurt the investigation will be taken seriously.

"We're having experts in explosives investigate this," Mejia said. "It's a serious matter, especially in this day and time."

Cassie Tomlin contributed to this report.