Bomb Suspect with Norwood Ties Arrested in Montreal Station Blast-September 5, 1984

Thomas Brigham, a 65-year-old former World War II prisoner of war and transient resident of South Norwood, was arrested in Montreal in connection with a devastating Monday bombing at the city’s main railroad station that left three people dead and 41 injured.

Prior to his arrest, Brigham told clerks at the South Norwood Pharmacy on Washington Street that he would be away for a couple of months because “I have a mission in Montreal.” Local acquaintances described Brigham as a frequent customer at the drug store who lived quietly in Apartment No. 4 at 260 Dean St. James Butters, a part-time clerk at the pharmacy owned by Selectman William Butters, recalled that Brigham frequently talked about “cosmic forces,” “hidden meanings” in newspaper headlines, and a belief that he possessed special powers.

Brigham was taken into custody by Montreal police after allegedly telling a reporter that he had mailed notes threatening Pope John Paul II ahead of the pontiff’s scheduled Canadian rail tour. While U.S. Secret Service acknowledged that Brigham had previously been placed under surveillance for trailing President Reagan, his relatives and ex-wife, Marjorie Brigham, noted he had a history of mental illness following his 1973 divorce and subsequent walkout from a Cleveland mental hospital in 1975. Brigham denied planting the 27.5-pound bomb, though authorities continue to investigate the blast’s ties to the upcoming papal visit.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger