Two officers killed in Oregon bank bombing

WOODBURN, Ore. – A bomb blast at a Woodburn bank killed a local police officer and a state bomb disposal technician.

Police said Saturday they had no suspects and didn’t know the motive.

“That person is dangerous and needs to be found as soon as possible,” said Lt. Gregg Hastings, spokesman for the Oregon State Police.

The explosion occurred late Friday afternoon after police arrived at the West Coast Bank branch office to check a suspicious device.

Late Friday, police said a Woodburn police officer died from the explosion. On Saturday, the State Police said one of their bomb technicians had also died at the scene.

The dead were identified as Senior Trooper William Hakim and Woodburn police Capt. Tom Tennant, both 51.

Woodburn Police Chief Scott Russell, 46, was injured and in critical condition at a Portland hospital in intensive care Saturday afternoon.

State police say the bank’s interior was extensively damaged, and a female employee was treated at Salem Hospital and released. Another bank employee was uninjured.

A bank employee found the bomb in bushes outside the bank, and it exploded after officers took it inside.

There was no explanation Saturday for their action.

“That we don’t know,” Hastings said when asked why the bomb had been taken inside.

On Saturday, police opened up a large area around the bank that had been sealed and allowed traffic to move freely on Oregon Highway 214. Earlier, they had said there was no evidence of more bombs.

A spokesman said close to 75 investigators from local, state and two federal agencies are investigating. Detectives were still in the bank building Saturday.

The federal agencies were acting as advisers and hadn’t taken control of the case, said Marion County Undersheriff Jason Myers. “At this point, it’s still a local-level investigation,” he said.

The explosion at 5:24 p.m. Friday followed a bomb threat call to a nearby Wells Fargo branch. The State Police said Saturday that investigators found “a suspicious object” that turned out to be harmless.

But the police said their investigation “led next door to the West Coast Bank,” where the bomb was found.

Hastings said he didn’t know of any grudges against the West Coast Bank.

Bank President and CEO Robert Sznewajs said he didn’t know of a grudge or other motive, either. “We’re not aware of anything,” he said.

He said the bank manager found the device Friday after an employee got a call about the Wells Fargo incident and law enforcement officers had made a check.

Woodburn is in the Willamette Valley, about halfway between Salem and Portland. It has a population of about 21,000.

The state police say Hakim, on the force 11 years, was the 28th trooper to die in the line of duty, and the second detective in the Arson and Explosives Section. He is survived by a wife, a 16-year old son and 18-year old daughter.

Tennant was a 28-year veteran of the Woodburn force, with a wife and children ages 24, 22 and 17.

Federal authorities said Saturday they were offering a $35,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.