Guns, a million rounds and a tunnel in Norco

NORCO - Neighbors who lived alongside him for years say they never saw Thomas McKiernan roll up the garage door of his Norco home.

Now they know why.

On Friday, authorities found more than 125 rifles and handguns, about a million rounds of ammunition and 60 pounds of gunpowder stockpiled in McKiernan's home on the 1800 block of Pali Drive -- enough to level several houses in the quiet Norco neighborhood under the wrong circumstances. They also discovered a tunnel beneath the garage.

The cache was found after a fire Thursday.

As Riverside County sheriff's investigators uncovered the arsenal, along with reserves of food and water, they began to develop a profile of the 62-year-old retired machinist, who was identified as the home's owner by neighbors and property records.

"We're possibly dealing with a survivalist," said Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez, a Riverside County Sheriff's Department spokesman.

McKiernan, who, officials said, punched and kicked rescue workers to get into the burning house, is being held for a mental evaluation, Gutierrez said. McKiernan has not been arrested.

Police evacuated the entire neighborhood Thursday as firefighters worked to put out the blaze amid bursting rounds of live ammunition.

Fire crews discovered an eight-foot deep tunnel 30 feet from the middle of the garage to a spot beneath the main house. Local and federal officers pulled three barrels out of the tunnel using hooks and poles, said Norco Fire Department Battalion Chief Frank deBoer. They contained rice, water and cooking oil.

Investigators worked into the evening Friday to locate and remove weapons found in the kitchen, living room and bedrooms. Two locked safes, reinforced with chains, had yet to be opened, he said.

It will take days for deputies and agents with Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to catalog or destroy the guns and ammunition, Gutierrez said. It could be days before officials decide whether to charge McKiernan.

The only illegal items investigators have identified so far are five assault rifles, several high-capacity magazines and the 60 pounds of gunpowder. It is illegal to possess more than one pound of gunpowder, Gutierrez said.

The cause of the fire is still unknown. Authorities condemned the house because of the tunnel.

On Friday, two-thirds of the driveway leading to McKiernan's modest, shingle-roofed home was filled with ordnance. Cardboard boxes and green metal, military-style containers of ammunition were stacked next to canisters and cookie tins packed with gunpowder.

The ammunition ranged from .22 caliber bullets for small arms to .30 caliber rounds used in high-powered military rifles.

It's not uncommon for collectors to have dozens of guns, but storing that much ammunition is hazardous, said Mike Raahauge, who owns a shooting range in Corona. (Probably left over from the feared infamous Y2K scare)

"You can shoot 500 rounds of shotgun shells in a normal day of hunting or shooting," he said. "But a million rounds - holy Toledo! No normal person would have a million rounds of ammo in their house."

Neighborhood Reaction

Residents -- many of them retirees -- of the quiet neighborhood said they were thankful the damage wasn't worse.

Gary Eppler spotted the smoke and flames coming from McTiernan's roof. While his wife called 911, Eppler banged on his neighbor's door, but got no response.

The screen door was unlocked and he entered. McTiernan was lying on a couch in the living room, seemingly passed out, Eppler said. A small fire extinguisher was within reach.

Eppler helped a staggering McKiernan outside.

"But he went around back and said, 'I've got to save my house.' I don't know what he was doing around there."

According to police and neighbors, it took three deputies to restrain McKiernan, who rambled anxiously after his struggle with firefighters.

Neighbors describe McKiernan as a quiet, soft-spoken man who has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years with no trouble. They said he is a military veteran who sometimes went to a nearby shooting range for target practice with his son, who they said is in the military.

Pali Drive resident Sylvia Madruga described McKiernan as a nice, friendly man with a passion for discussing politics.

"He wasn't radical or anything like that," she said. "He had the same feelings that everyone had, he was tired of the liars in the government, and a government that doesn't listen to its people."

According to Madruga, raised his five children at the home. One of his sons was serving with the Marines in Afghanistan, Madruga said.

Madruga said McKiernan was a voracious reader of politically-themed novels and once borrowed a copy of a book based on the life of FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover.

"He was very well read," she said. "He felt that the government was not doing enough to protect and secure our borders."

Profile of a Survivalist

On the surface, McKiernan fits the profile of a survivalist, said James Houston, a criminologist and professor of criminology at Grand Valley State University in Michigan.

"Neighbors always describe them as quiet and helpful," said Houston. "It has to do with their strong sense of isolation."

They are working-class individuals who tend to share a distrust of the government and lean politically to the right, Houston said. Survivalists struggle to understand the cultural and technological changes happening today.

The idea that the government is not doing enough to protect them from crime or waves of illegal immigration is often why they stockpile weapons and supplies, he said.

Many survivalists are susceptible to the idea of "culture wars" played up in the media, Houston said.

"Some people to take it to heart, and they have guns to prepare themselves for when the time comes," Houston said.
Reach Sarah Gordon at 951-893-2114 or sgordon@PE.com.
By GREGOR McGAVIN, SARAH GORDON, LAURA RICO and PAIGE AUSTIN
The Press-Enterprise