ANAMOSA, Iowa — Authorities are investigating after officials found materials that could have been used to make a bomb in an inmate’s cell on Friday at Anamosa State Penitentiary in Iowa, according to multiple reports.
Officials with the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigations visited the prison and interviewed inmates after receiving “credible intelligence,” KCRG reported. During the search, authorities found a household substance inside an inmate’s cell, which could have been used to create an explosive, according to the news station.
Cord Overton, chief of staff of the Iowa Department of Corrections, told the Des Moines Register that the substance was not dangerous on its own. The State Fire Marshal’s Office will examine the substance, according to Iowa’s News Now.
“At the time, it is not believed that there is a danger to the public or the prison,” DOC officials said in a statement obtained by the Register.
Authorities continue to investigate.
Friday’s incident happened about two months after a nurse and a correctional officer were killed by inmates at the prison, according to officials. The slain employees were identified as correctional officer Robert McFarland and nurse Lorena Schulte, according to the Register. Thomas Woodard Jr., 38, and Michael Dutcher, 29, have been charged in connection to their deaths, the newspaper reported.