Bomb claim false in FBI-gate breach

PITTSBURGH — A dump-truck driver who said he had a bomb deliberately smashed his vehicle through a security gate of the FBI’s offices on Tuesday, but no bomb was found and there appeared to be no connection to terrorism, authorities said.

The driver, Thomas Richard Ross of New Waterford, Ohio, was injured in the crash, but nobody else was hurt, they said.

The truck was moving erratically and ran eight or nine red lights before a Pittsburgh police officer pulled it over late Tuesday morning near the FBI building on the city’s south side, authorities said. The driver initially refused to surrender and claimed to have a bomb, and although he later acted as though he was going to surrender, he instead floored the gas pedal and rammed the gate, the Pittsburgh Public Safety Department said.

The truck was disabled by security barriers meant to prevent vehicles from driving into the fenced-in office complex. The driver, who appeared to have hit his head on the windshield, was tackled moments later, FBI special agent Gregory Heeb said.

FBI agents checked the truck for bombs and other weapons that might signal an intended attack and found nothing.

Ross was taken to Allegheny County jail, where he’s facing numerous charges including aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, fleeing and eluding and various driving offenses, authorities said.