Portland bartender with ‘violent obsession’ over club firing him drove rental car full of EXPLOSIVES through front door
A former Portland bartender who authorities say had a “violent obsession” with the athletic club that fired him allegedly turned a rented SUV into a rolling bomb.
Investigators say the driver, identified by family as 45-year-old Bruce Whitman, packed the vehicle with explosive materials, including propane tanks and pipe bombs, before smashing through the front doors of the Multnomah Athletic Club.
It caused a fiery explosion that killed him and left the building’s lobby in ruins.
The shocking early morning attack, first described by The Oregonian, happened just before 3 a.m. Saturday in the city’s Goose Hollow neighborhood.
Security footage captured the terrifying moment a dark SUV crashed into the club, shattering glass and tearing across the main floor.
Some equipment exploded, causing a fire that swept through the entrance and caused millions of dollars in damage as the fire moved further into the gym.
Despite the extent of the destruction, no one else was injured.
Authorities believe Whitman rented a black Nissan Rogue the day before the attack and used it to ram into the building before detonating the explosives.
Bruce Whitman, 49, identified by family as the driver, died Saturday morning after driving a vehicle packed with explosives into the Multnomah Athletic Club.
Investigators believe the explosives included a combination of propane tanks and pipe bombs, although not all of the devices detonated.
The blast caused extensive damage to the ground floor, with officials describing the lobby as badly destroyed
The impact alone sent debris flying through the lobby, but it was the subsequent explosion that turned the scene into what one source described as “complete destruction.”
Explosive Ordnance Disposal crews later recovered evidence of explosive materials from the wreckage as firefighters battled flames that spread through the club’s lower level.
The driver was found dead in the vehicle. Police initially withheld his identity, but his mother, Rita Lenzer, confirmed to reporters that Whitman was responsible after being contacted by detectives.
“And then I didn’t hear from him again,” Lenzer said of their last communication the day before the attack. “Until I got a call from the detective the next morning.”
Whitman had previously worked as a bartender at the exclusive club but was fired.
It was this event that seemed to mark the beginning of a disturbing downward spiral.
Court documents show he later came to club members’ homes and made threats, while also being spotted repeatedly outside the facility confronting people associated with it.
Lenzer acknowledged her son’s fixation.
Police and the FBI in Portland spoke to the press about the crash and subsequent fire at the Multnomah Athletic Club
Whitman had previously worked as a bartender at the club and was later fired
Law enforcement sources said multiple propane tanks were found in the vehicle, indicating the suspect had deliberately filled the SUV with flammable fuel before the crash.
Investigators said the explosive materials inside the vehicle included propane tanks that contributed to the intensity of the blast when the SUV detonated inside the building.
Security video shows a dark SUV crashing through the main entrance of the Multnomah Athletic Club early Saturday morning
The footage shows the vehicle crashing through glass windows and turnstiles as it enters the building’s lobby
According to his mother, Whitman was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia earlier this year after a mental health crisis
“When it came up, you could tell it made him angry,” she told OregonLive.
Neighbors had also raised the alarm, with a group of residents at one point writing to Whitman’s family, urging them to intervene and get him mental health treatment.
Lenzer said her son was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia earlier this year after a mental health crisis that led to a stay in a behavioral health facility in Portland following a suicide attempt.
Court records show Whitman was subject to two separate “red flag” orders — in 2022 and again this year — requiring him to surrender firearms over concerns about potential violence.
Two days after his most recent crisis, he gave up two guns.
“He showed signs of being a completely normal human being,” Lenzer said of his condition after being discharged from treatment.
Still, she struggled to reconcile that image with the calculated nature of the attack.
“To think so hard about renting a car and the propane tanks and everything,” she said. ‘How do you think of that and do that? Where does that come from?’
Whitman had threatened individuals associated with the club and showed up at their homes
Years earlier, in 2015, Whitman drew local attention for releasing chickens painted pink in Portland as part of a prank he said was intended to “make people laugh.”
Multnomah Athletic Club is the largest private athletic and social club in the U.S., with more than 21,000 members. It is closed indefinitely
Years before the deadly rampage, Whitman had made headlines with a much more unusual stunt: painting chickens pink with food coloring and beet juice and releasing them along Portland’s waterfront, in what he said was an effort to “make people laugh.”
The prank, while strange, ended without damage. But authorities now say the trajectory of his behavior took a much darker turn in the years that followed.
His half-brother, Cody Erickson, said the two had maintained a relationship and described Whitman as adventurous and outdoorsy.
“He was a good guy, I thought,” Erickson said. ‘Don’t know. People change, I think.’
The Multnomah Athletic Club is one of the largest private athletic and social clubs in the United States with more than 21,000 members and has been closed indefinitely after what it called a “significant incident.”
General manager Charles Leverton acknowledged that shock spread through the community after images of the crash began circulating.
“While much remains unknown and the investigation is ongoing, it is clear that this is a difficult time for our entire community,” Leverton said in a message to members.
‘MAC has always been more than a building. It is a place where relationships are formed and people come together in good and difficult times.”
If you or someone you know needs help, call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US at 988. An online chat is also available at 988lifeline.org.