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FBI Releases Name Of Southwest Plaza Bomb Suspect

LITTLETON, Colo. (CBS4) - The FBI joint terrorism task force has released the name of a man they say is a suspect in this week's attempted bombing at Southwest Plaza Mall.

The sheriff's office on Friday released new photos of Earl Albert Moore, 65, as well as a videotape, He was previously being referred to as a person of interest. CBS4 investigator Rick Sallinger searched the Federal Bureau of Prisons and found Moore was released from prison on April 13. It's not clear why he was in prison. He also goes by the name Earl Albert Buchanan.

Moore is seen in the latest photos and video riding on an RTD bus on the night before the incident. It was a Route 76 bus that was headed north on Wadsworth from the mall at about 8:30 p.m.

Moore is described as a white male, with graying hair, a silver mustache, approximately 200 to 225 pounds, 6 feet to 6-foot-2, bald, blue eyes, with a grey mustache. He was last seen wearing glasses and has multiple tattoos.

Earl Albert Moore
(credit: FBI)
Earl Albert Moore
(credit: FBI)
Earl Albert Moore
(credit: FBI)

Moore is considered armed and dangerous and has an extensive criminal background. Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call 911 or the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office tip line at (303) 271-5615.

In previously released images Moore is seen in the Southwest Plaza on Wednesday on the mall's security videotape shortly before the bomb and two propane tanks were found inside.

Two of the images were captured as he entered through a door marked as Restricted Access. Another photo shows him getting off an escalator in the mall.

Moore appears to be wearing the same clothing in all of the photos released so far and in all the photos he is carrying a large plastic bag. In one of the photos released Friday you can see that the hat he is wearing has the University of South Carolina logo on it and in another you can see a suitcase or a large backpack next to him on the bus.

Members of the Jefferson County Bomb Squad found the propane tanks and the pipe bomb inside the mall after a small fire broke out near the food court at about 11:50 a.m. on Wednesday. They were found in an entryway that is off limits to customers near the Dillard's department story.

The mall was evacuated as a precaution and then closed for the rest of the day and several schools nearby were placed on lockouts.

Officials confirmed late Thursday the propane tanks were purchased at a nearby Target store.

The task force, including members of the Jefferson County Sheriff's offics, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, has been tracking down the many leads they've been getting but so far there have been no arrests.

"There's an urgency to find the individual for obvious reasons and we're using all available resources that we need in Jefferson County and certainly our federal partners to run down those leads and identify that person of interest in those photographs," Jefferson County Sheriff Ted Mink said on Thursday.

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