An attacker ambushed Shelby County Medical Examiner Dr. O. C. Smith Saturday night, wrapped him from head to toe in barbed wire and strapped a bomb to his body.
Police said Smith left his office at about 10 and was headed to the parking lot when someone threw an acid-like substance in his face to subdue him.
For nearly three hours, he was unable to move or shout for help because of the barbed wire in his mouth.
A security guard spotted Smith's vehicle in the parking lot, became suspicious and found Smith about 12:30 a.m. Sunday outside the office building in the medical center.