Ohio man bombed ‘romantic rival’ he met through live-action role playing, feds say

The grandfather noticed the package inside a plastic bag on his porch on a late October morning.

It was addressed to his adult grandson, who had just left for work, so he took it inside their home in Manchester, Maryland. It had no return address.

When the grandson returned home the evening of Oct. 30, he opened the cardboard box and discovered a white box with red ribbon inside. He went to his bedroom to open the package in private.

In the bedroom, he noticed a nail poked into the white box and pulled it out. A “whistling or hissing” sound began. Then the package exploded and shrapnel smashed into his body.

The blast slightly lifted the roof and neighbors felt shaking from the explosion, the Carroll County Times reported last year. The 28-year-old man who opened the package was rushed to a hospital across the state line in Pennsylvania, the newspaper reported.

The bomb set off worries in the community, and law enforcement warned residents to be wary of suspicious packages, Carroll County Times reported.

“I know that we’re coming up on the holiday season and folks are going to be receiving an awful lot of packages,” Carroll County Sheriff Jim DeWees said at a news conference shortly after the explosion, according to the newspaper.

However, as federal authorities investigated, they learned the attack wasn’t random.

A day after the explosion, the man’s girlfriend told investigators she believed Clayton Alexander McCoy, a friend she’d known for seven years, could be connected to the explosion, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday.

All three knew each other through a live-action role playing game called Dagorhir, a game with “full contact melee fighting and ranged combat,” authorities say.

Inspired by medieval history and the fantasy world created by J.R.R. Tolkien, the game was named after the author’s Elvish word for “battle lords,” according to Dagorhir.com.

“Dagorhir spread across the United States and beyond as battles turned into weekend camping trips, and weekend camping trips into week-long immersive medieval/fantasy experiences with participants numbering in the thousands,” the website says.

In the weeks before the bombing, McCoy and the man’s girlfriend had been planning a camping trip together, authorities say. But when McCoy told her that he had feelings for her the week of Oct. 12, she told him she didn’t feel the same way. They agreed to remain friends, but she canceled the camping trip.

A few days after the explosion, the man injured in the blast was able to speak with investigators. He said McCoy could have created an explosive device because he was proficient at crafting wood and metal like many in the Dagorhir community, according to the criminal complaint.

He didn’t believe McCoy could be responsible, authorities say.

However, a search warrant directed to Google revealed a device belonging to McCoy was in proximity to the home during the explosion, according to the criminal complaint. The device traveled from McCoy’s residence in Chesterland, Ohio, to the home in Maryland, authorities say.

Additionally, a home security camera captured footage of a truck similar to the one owned by McCoy’s mother in the neighborhood, authorities say.

McCoy was charged with transporting explosives with intent to injure and possessing a destructive device during and in relation to a crime of violence.

“Many in this region may recall how frightening this incident was and in the days following,” DeWees said at a news conference Thursday, according to WJZ. “Cases involving explosions often take months or even years to solve. And we’re all very grateful for the speed and deliberation by which this law enforcement team put this case together through methodical investigative work and through teamwork.”

This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 6:42 PM with the headline "Ohio man bombed ‘romantic rival’ he met through live-action role playing, feds say."