Posted on 05/04/2008 1:12:13 PM PDT by John Jorsett
SAN DIEGO – A pipe bomb or series of pipe bombs exploded at the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Courthouse downtown early Sunday morning, sending shrapnel into a courtyard and to the eighth floor of a building across the street.
Two guards with the Federal Protective Service, who were inside the building, called authorities when they heard the explosion at 1:40 a.m. on Front Street near Broadway. The guards were not injured.
Firefighters, police, FBI and Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents arrived minutes later to find the front entrance and the lobby of the building damaged.
The cause is believed to have been a bomb or bombs that detonated at once and caused a single explosion, said Keith Slotter, FBI special agent in charge of San Diego.
Before the investigation began, San Diego Metro Arson Strike Team investigators and ATF bomb investigators searched the area to make sure there were no other explosives.
Early Sunday morning, about 40 agents combed the courtyard in front of the courthouse, Front Street and a courtyard on the other side, using evidence markers and spray paint to locate debris from the blast.
“The damage from the shrapnel didn't stay concentrated just in front of the door,” Slotter said.
One piece of shrapnel lodged in a window about eight stories up the AT&T building that faces the courthouse.
Authorities believe the device or devices were left outside the building's front door shortly before being detonated.
Slotter said there are cameras outside the building that may provide information. There are no cameras that directly face the doorway, he said.
Authorities were still deciding whether or not the courthouse will be open to the public Monday. They expected to make a decision late Sunday.
Investigators said Front Street, between Broadway and F Street, would be closed until at least noon Sunday while they collect evidence. That evidence will be sent to an FBI laboratory in Virginia, where bomb experts will analyze it, Slotter said. At the time of the explosion, there were not many people walking by the building, which is at least a block from nightclubs in the Gaslamp Quarter. Slotter said there were vehicles passing by when the explosion occurred, but no reports of injuries.
Anyone who saw any activity near the building at that hour is asked to call FBI at (858) 565-1255.
What kind of stupid terrorist wannabe bombs a federal building on Sunday morning? What did they think they would accomplish, other than making a mess?
There's more than one kind of stupid terrorist wannabe?
“What kind of stupid terrorist wannabe bombs a federal building on Sunday morning?”
OH, I think we all have a pretty good guess, based on other activity around Government offices, Military Recruiting Centers, the recent ‘bicycle bombing’, etc.
“What kind of stupid terrorist wannabe bombs a federal building on Sunday morning? What did they think they would accomplish, other than making a mess?”
William Ayers?
A terrorist who is trying to make a point against the gov’t without killing any bystanders...... IMHO
They should check the whereabouts of that pardoned Weatherman friend of Obama’s.
Well, I don’t think it was Howard Dean because I saw him on the boob-tube, but has anyone seen the Rev. Wright?
I think it’s high time we ban pipes...8-)
How about an aspirin factory in the middle of the night?
My guess is it may be someone hoping to delay a trial or some kind of pending legal action.
Detonating bombs in the AM seems to me to be a move designed to inflict damage, not injuries.
Just a wild guess, but since the building may be open on Monday, it also looks like the plan didn’t work.
A pipe bomb blast shattered the glass in the front door of a Federal Express distribution facility in the Webster area Friday and a second pipe bomb was discovered in the parking lot and was safely defused, police said.The blast occurred in the 1600 block of 47th Street and Federal Boulevard at 1:47 a.m., according to San Diego police Sgt. Kerry Tom.
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