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Sunday, November 15, 2026Nov 15

Suspect nabbed following alleged attempt to blow up woman

Law enforcement work around the Chattanooga Police's bomb squad truck.
Law enforcement work around the Chattanooga Police's bomb squad truck.

The Chattanooga Police Department’s bomb squad aided federal authorities in the arrest of an attempted murder suspect on Sunday morning in Bledsoe County.

Mitchell Oakes was taken into custody without incident, at 9 a.m. by U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents at a home in Bledsoe County, according to police in the Nashville suburb of Franklin.

Oakes, 41, is accused of planting a bomb in a woman’s car on Saturday outside of the rehabilitation and assisted living center where she worked in Franklin.

The woman contacted law enforcement after she found the device while getting in her car to leave her job at NHC Cool Springs.

U.S. officials said late Sunday night Oakes, already charged with attempted murder, also faces federal charges of being a felon in possession having an unregistered explosive device.