Antioch Police confirm identity of man who died Monday morning from home-made bomb
Arrested in 2012 for making pipe bombs
Frank Trout. Antioch Herald file photo
By Allen D. Payton
Antioch Police have confirmed that the man who died from what appears to be wounds from the explosion of a home-made bomb near two schools, Monday morning, Jan. 31, 2022, was Antioch resident Frank Trout. Speculation was rampant on social media Monday evening, with people posting a 2012 Antioch Herald article about Trout being arrested for making pipe bombs.
Asked if Trout was indeed the deceased man from Monday’s incident, and having the article shared with him, Antioch Police Strategic Communications Officer Darryl Saffold simply replied Tuesday morning, “same guy.”
However, it wasn’t until today, Friday Feb. 4, that Antioch Police officially identified Trout as the deceased. (See related article)
Saffold issued the following press release providing more details about the incident:
On January 31, 2022, at approximately 7:32 AM, Antioch Police Department Dispatch received a call of a subject down on the ground in the area of West Seventeenth Street and F Street. It was discovered that the subject, who was identified as Antioch resident Frank Trout, suffered from a self-inflicted detonation of an improvised explosive device which caused a fatal injury. After a long and extensive search of the area, with the assistance of numerous allied agencies, it was determined there is no threat to the community.
At approximately 7:38 AM, Antioch officers arrived in the area and located Trout lying on the ground after it was apparent, he suffered from severe trauma and was unresponsive. After his vitals were assessed. It was determined Trout was deceased and appeared to have been in possession of an improvised explosive device. Upon further investigation of the area surrounding Trout’s body, exposed wiring on an unknown origin was located. Out of an abundance of caution, several schools in the area were notified and a shelter in-place was issued. Simultaneously, numerous allied agencies were notified and were requested to assist with efforts to confirm there were no outstanding devices and that there was no threat to the community.
With the assistance of Walnut Creek Police Department’s Bomb Squad, FBI Bomb Squad, ATF, Coast Guard Bomb Sniffing K-9 Team, Department of Homeland Security, BART PD Bomb Sniffing K-9 Team, Contra Costa County Fire Department, and American Medical Response the following schools were thoroughly searched and determined to be safe for all students and staff: Antioch Middle School, Freemont Elementary School, Bridges Continuation School, Live Oak High School. In addition to the protective sweeps of the area schools, the adjacent neighborhood streets were searched and determined to be safe for residents.
The shelter in-place was lifted as soon as it was determined this was an isolated incident.
Due to the ongoing and active nature of the investigation, no further information will be released at this time. Updates may be made available on the Antioch Police Departments social media pages.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Antioch Police Department non-emergency line at (925)481-8297 or at Rgerber@Antiochca.gov. You may also text-a-tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the key word ANTIOCH.
