This is related to the stabbing incident that occurred at the Astoria Warming Center on February 3, 2023, in which Dwayne Blair was arrested.
On February 5, 2023, Astoria Police were dispatched to the Astoria Warming Center located at 1076 Franklin Avenue in reference to an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) inside the building. The caller told dispatch that an employee had dismantled the device, but they were concerned because the staff was reluctant to notify the Police Department.
On February 3, 2022, Dwayne Douglas Blair, 58, threw the IED in the direction of a warming center employee, and it landed several feet in front of him and rolled to a stop at his feet. The employee placed the device in a desk drawer for safekeeping when he was pulled away to deal with the stabbing in which Blair was arrested. Another employee with military experience examined the device on February 4th, identified it as an IED, and dismantled it. It was then placed back in the drawer until Astoria Police recovered it on February 5th. The IED was a shotgun shell encased in a plastic container wrapped in tape multiple times. There was a sharp pointed end that appeared to be able to detonate the shell.
Officers Hansen and Carrera quickly located Blair and arrested him for Attempted Murder II, Attempted Assault I, and Unlawful Possession of a Destructive Device. He was transported to the Clatsop County Jail, where he is currently being held.