OAK HILL, Fla. — A massive investigation and manhunt continued Saturday in Volusia County after a man reportedly set off a pipe bomb in Oak Hill.

  • Man accused of setting off pipe bomb
  • No injuries reported, Sheriff's spokesman says
  • Deputies are looking for 36-year-old Troy Phoenix

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office is looking for Troy Phoenix, 36. 

Deputies responded to the home on Beehive Drive on Friday after receiving a call just before noon about a domestic disturbance and explosion.

Investigators said they were told that Phoenix got into an argument with people in the home and threatened to blow them up with a bomb when they told him he would be evicted. He reportedly lived in a shed on the property.

Witnesses say Phoenix ignited the bomb inside, then ran out and threw the bomb into a fire pit area outside. It exploded and shook the neighborhood.

The people inside say he then fled the property.

Sheriff Mike Chitwood said that based on preliminary investigations by the bomb squad, had the bomb gone off in the home, it would have levelled the building.

"Anybody who would detonate a bomb and threaten to kill everybody in the house, you know obviously he's not in his right mind right now," Chitwood said. 

The sheriff's office is investigating the home for more explosive material. Since Phoenix has been arrested before for making meth, they are also bracing for finding meth-making materials on the property.

Chitwood says they are right now trying to arrest Phoenix on aggravated assault and posession and manufacturing of an explosive device.

"We know he's not armed, we believe he is not armed," Chitwood said. "But the simple fact that he could have blown up everybody who was in that house and killed him, makes him armed and dangerous, in our opinion."

Phoenix will be charged with possession/discharge of a destructive device, possession/manufacture of explosives, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. 

Anyone with information on Phoenix can call Crime Stoppers at 1-888-277-TIPS (8477).

Troy Phoenix, 36, is wanted in connection to a pipe bomb explosion in Oak Hill. (Courtesy of Volusia County Sheriff's Office)
Troy Phoenix, 36, is wanted in connection to a pipe bomb explosion in Oak Hill. (Courtesy of Volusia County Sheriff's Office)