"Terrorists" Bomb arkansas Doctor's LEXUS.
"Dr. Trent Pierce was well-liked and a pillar of the West Memphis, Arkansas, community, sources say"Dr. Trent Pierce, a family practitioner, was flown to a hospital across the Mississippi River in Memphis, Tennessee, after the 8 a.m. blast, police Chief Robert Paudert said, adding that Pierce may be transferred to a burn center in Ohio. Officials said he was in critical condition.
"It's a terrorist attack on Dr. Pierce," Paudert said. "We just don't know why someone would do this... We're going to find out."
He added that Pierce is his physician and is well known and loved in the community, "a gentle and kind person."
Local and federal officials urged anyone with information to contact law enforcement agencies, Wade said. The ATF tip line is 888-ATF-BOMB.
The state medical board was scheduled to meet Thursday in Little Rock, according to the board's Web No one else was injured, Paudert said. Police are unsure whether Pierce was inside or outside the car at the time of the explosion, which occurred on the front end of the SUV.Aerial video from the scene showed the white SUV with its hood blown up and its front end extensively damaged.
"We don't know if this was a random target," Paudert said. Residents a mile away reported hearing the "violent explosion," he said.
Initial indications were that foul play was not involved, Paudert said, as authorities were unable to discover any threats against Pierce, and police thought the blast might have resulted from a malfunction of some sort.
However, agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives found evidence of an explosive device, he said.
The investigation has been turned over to the ATF, Paudert said.
ATF spokesman Drew Wade said five agents from the bureau's office in Little Rock, Arkansas, were on site and a bomb truck was en route. Eight additional agents were on the way from the bureau's Memphis office, he said.
But the West Memphis police chief promised to remain involved in the investigation, too.
Whoever planted the bomb has "injured someone that's loved in this community, and my physician," Paudert said. "I'm going to show personal attention to this."
Medical board spokeswoman Peggy Cryer told CNN the board had heard Pierce was flown to a hospital, but had no definite information beyond that.
"We do not know enough to give any kind of statement," she said.
Callers to Pierce's office received an answering machine recording saying the office was closed, but the call was repeatedly disconnected during the recording, preventing messages from being left.
Doris Davis, who works in an eye doctor's office next door, said Pierce's office staff is swamped trying to deal with patients who arrived for their appointments.
She said Pierce is active in his church and is married with two children. Davis said FBI agents were interviewing her boss, Dr. Eddie Bryant, who is a friend of Pierce's and went to medical school with him.
West Memphis and Memphis are separated by the Mississippi River. West Memphis has about 28,000 residents.
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