Posted on 05/04/2008 9:02:09 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
That's an oversight. If you're going to put up cameras, would that be the first place you'd record?
Dang. Call in all the Usual Suspects. Dems not excluded.
FBI: Courthouse bomb was simple, but deadly
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080505-1503-bn05bomb.html
By Greg Gross
UNION-TRIBUNE
SAN DIEGO – The pipe bomb that blasted the front of the downtown federal courthouse early Sunday morning wasn’t especially sophisticated, but it was purpose-built to injure or kill and was powerful enough to hurl shrapnel in a two-block radius, FBI officials said Monday.
According to FBI Special Agent Keith Slotter, the device consisted of multiple tubes that detonated simultaneously and was packed with more than 50 nails, creating the kind of shrapnel that could have injured or killed passersby. “This was a powerful device,” Slotter said.
Despite the use of multiple pipes – the exact number was not specified – Slotter characterized the bomb as “not overly sophisticated.”
So far, he said, no one has claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Evidence technicians spent the day picking up pieces of the bomb and other physical evidence, all of which is being sent to the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Va., for analysis, Slotter said.
Meanwhile, investigators are looking over tapes from security cameras, at least some of which caught the explosion and the presence of one or more people near the Front Street courthouse moments before the blast.
Slotter wouldn’t say whether any of the people seen in the videotapes were considered suspects in the bombing. He said agents are examining more tapes from other security cameras near the courthouse.
Slotter chided national news organizations for suggesting the bombing of the federal courthouse was the act of a “serial bomber” or that there was a link established between that bombing and a pipe bomb found at a Federal Express building, calling it “way too early in the game.”
He also denied reports that the FBI office in San Diego had issued any special “red alert” following the courthouse bombing, saying that San Diego agents had alerted FBI bomb technicians around the country about the incident as a matter of routine.
Probe of San Diego court pipe bomb looks at earlier blast
By ELLIOT SPAGAT | Monday, May 5 2008
http://www.bakersfield.com/119/story/436168.html
The FBI said Monday that it is looking into whether a pipe bomb attack at a downtown federal courthouse is linked to a blast at a FedEx office last month.
The courthouse explosion early Sunday spread nails and shrapnel as far as two blocks, and someone could have been killed if they were in the way, said Keith Slotter, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Diego office.
Slotter said surveillance video shows “some individuals” in the area shortly before the explosion, but declined to elaborate. Authorities have not identified any suspects and no one has claimed responsibility.
The FBI is determining whether the attack is related to a bomb that shattered the glass door of a FedEx building in San Diego around 2. a.m. on April 25. Authorities found a second bomb in the FedEx parking lot and detonated it.
“We are looking at that obviously very closely,” Slotter told reporters. “We have not reached the point where we can say the two were connected ... I think we’re way ahead of the game to characterize something like this as a serial bomber.”
More than one pipe bomb - it’s unclear how many - were left outside the federal courthouse Sunday shortly before they exploded around 1:40 a.m., causing “considerable damage” to the entrance and lobby, Slotter said.
Debris was found lodged in a window about eight stories up the AT&T building across the street. The courthouse is located near the Gaslamp Quarter’s bars and nightclubs.
“This was a pretty powerful bomb,” Slotter said.
The courthouse was scheduled to reopen Tuesday, said Mark Owen, acting chief deputy of the U.S. Marshals Office for the Southern District of California. There was no estimate of property damage.
About 40 investigators are working on the case and federal authorities are treating it as a top priority, Slotter said. Evidence was flown Monday to FBI labs in Quantico, Va.
Slotter said the motive for the attack was unclear.
“Is it (someone) trying to make a statement to the government? To the justice system?” he said. “Who knows?”
Great visual!
First and foremost—Obama is an immature idiot and will make a fine puppet.
“It could just be a test run, looking to determine how much boom dust might be needed at courthouses built of late.”
Yep ... one thing terrorists worry about is causing too much damage ...
a “trial run” is surely worth more then doubling the chance that you might get caught before or when you go on to the “real thing”
depends on the type of “terrorist” doing the “test run”. ;-)
Federal courthouse in San Diego closed due to bomb damage
6:00 PM Mon, May 05, 2008
PE News
http://www.beloblog.com/Pe_Blogs/news/digest/#a269963
The federal courthouse in San Diego will be closed today as workers repair damage caused by a suspected pipe bomb.
The explosion early Sunday damaged the front entrance and lobby area of the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Courthouse, said FBI spokeswoman April Langwell.
No one was hurt by the blast, which happened at 1:40 a.m. and was reported by two guards inside the building.
Debris was found lodged in a window about eight stories up the AT&T building that faces the courthouse. About 40 agents combed the courtyard in front of the courthouse after the area was swept for explosives.
The evidence collected will be sent to an FBI laboratory in Virginia for analysis by bomb experts.
“It’s too early to tell if it’s terrorism-related,” said FBI spokesman Darrell Foxworth. “It does not appear to be right now.”
Authorities said surveillance cameras outside the building might provide information, but there are no cameras that directly face the doorway. At the time of the explosion there were not many people around the building, which is a block from nightclubs in the Gaslamp Quarter.
Streets in the area were closed until early Sunday afternoon. The explosion is under investigation and no arrests have been made.
No one has claimed responsibility for the blast, authorities said, and no threats were received before the bomb exploded.
—From news services
Long LIve the Revolution!
Latter Day Weathermen?
I’m suprised that this didn’t make national news. As far as I know, this story didn’t even make an appearance on Drudge (unless i just missed it).
I think Drudge had it linked for a day or two.. Investigation is ongoing.
Latest Update
Streets closed as dogs investigate San Diego court bomb
AP - May 7 2008
http://www.bakersfield.com/119/story/438318.html
Dogs were sniffing downtown San Diego streets Wednesday to help agents investigating a pipe bomb explosion at the city’s federal courthouse.
FBI spokesman Darrell Foxworth says the dogs were trying to identify where the attackers fled after leaving explosives outside the courthouse early Sunday. The dogs were trained with scents from evidence collected at the scene.
Sunday’s blast caused considerable damage to the lobby and entrance of the courthouse, which reopened Tuesday.
Authorities say the dog-sniffing briefly closed several downtown intersections but didn’t cause major traffic.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.