A Tacoma cannabis shop has been rocked by a string of deliberate attacks, the latest involving what police described as a homemade explosive device. Craft Cannabis has been the target of vandals five times in just six weeks, with the owner now offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspects, KING 5 reported.
The recent bout of destruction commenced shortly after the store completed a remodel and celebrated its grand reopening. The business owner, James Bean, has claimed that no such violent acts have befallen his other pot shops located in Wenatchee, and Vancouver. "I think this could have been a very different story had the person been successful," Bean told FOX 13 Seattle concerning the explosive device that was safely disarmed by the police.
Bean said that the initial incidents involved the theft of signs offering 35% off all products. Following the thefts, surveillance footage captured a suspect attempting to start a fire at the building and, later, leaving a duffel bag containing the explosive outside the front of the establishment. The banner that was targeted by the arson attempt had been stolen twice the month before, hinting at a persistent vendetta. "It was clearly a homemade bomb with the intent to do damage to the building," Bean described in a statement obtained by KING 5.
Investigators from the Tacoma Police Department are actively investigating these incidents. Although some suspects' faces were caught on video during the banner thefts, their identities and the connection to the explosive left on the doorstep remain to be confirmed. "This was very focused," Bean said, "When they came to the store, they had equipment to steal the banner." The attempt to set ablaze the store, this time using a Molotov cocktail, which was thankfully unsuccessful, marks an escalation in the attacks. Bean hopes that the suspects will be apprehended and held accountable for the endangerment they have caused to his business and community, KING 5 reported.
