Bombs In Valley Neighborhoods Linked No One Hurt In Explosions; Officials Say Targets Random
A string of related explosions this week in tidy Spokane Valley neighborhoods has authorities worried that whoever is responsible is becoming increasingly brazen.
Two small bombs damaged a car and a house in separate incidents before dawn Tuesday - the second and third explosions since Sunday night.
The first blast Tuesday shattered a car windshield in the 12600 block of east 25th Avenue about 1 a.m.
Forty minutes later, an explosion less than a half-mile away ripped a fist-sized hole through the double-paned living room window of a house at 11824 E. 22nd Ave.
Sheriff’s department investigators believe the blasts are connected to a similar explosion Sunday that damaged a dump truck in the 10200 block of east Driftwood Court.
No one has been injured in the blasts.
“The two vehicles, we could call those a prank,” said Sheriff’s Deputy David Reagan. “But when they attach (the device) to an occupied home - that’s an injury waiting to happen.”
The targets appear to have been chosen at random, said Capt. Doug Silver. Residents described the explosions as sounding like a loud gunshot.
Silver said investigators are uncertain if the bombers were testing homemade devices. “If they’re experimenting … that could be even more dangerous,” he said.
The lack of a known motive or clear target has residents edgy.
“That’s even scarier - if they’re random,” said Wallis Walton, who lives across the street from the house that was bombed. “That means anybody’s fair game.”
Investigators recovered increasing amounts of evidence from each blast, but don’t have any suspects or suspect descriptions.
Sheriff’s Department bomb technicians are examining pieces of the devices collected from the dump truck and house, and may call in the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for help.
In each case, the explosive was inside a cylindrical metal container, and taped or set on the target. The bombs were apparently detonated with a fuse, Silver said.
The bomb that shattered the windshield of the Ford Taurus on 25th Avenue was tucked underneath a windshield wiper, Reagan said.
At the home on 22nd Avenue, a bomb taped to a living room window blasted a 4-inch hole. Black marks ringed the hole, and torn vertical blinds dangled in disarray over a couch under the window.
“Had somebody been asleep on the couch there very well could have been a serious injury or a fatality,” Reagan said.
It was unclear who was home at the time. Attempts to contact the family Tuesday were unsuccessful.
The bomb that damaged the dump truck was taped to the driver’s side door about 11 p.m. Sunday. The explosion broke the door window and split its frame.
Metal believed to be part of the device was recovered from the floor of the truck, Reagan said.
A witness to the attack on the house told deputies they saw a pickup truck and a car leave the area shortly after the blast. The pickup truck was described as a small, 1980s-vintage two-wheel-drive model with a canopy. The car was described as a small blue four-door, either a Chevrolet Geo or a Honda Civic.
Anyone with information about the explosions is asked to call Crime Check at 456-2233.
“We’re just hoping for any information that might stop this before somebody does get hurt,” Silver said.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Valley explosions
MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: INFORMATION SOUGHT Anyone with information about the explosions is asked to call Crime Check at 456-2233.