Explosion outside NAACP in Colorado
deliberate, FBI says
January 6, 2015
An explosion outside an NAACP office building in
Colorado on Tuesday morning that rattled neighbors was caused deliberately,
officials say.
improvised explosive device was detonated against the
exterior wall of the NAACP building on South El Paso Street in Colorado Springs
around 10:45 a.m. Mountain time. No one was injured, said Amy Sanders, a
spokeswoman for the FBI in Denver.
A gasoline can had been placed near the device but did
not ignite during the explosion, Sanders said.
The local NAACP headquarters building, which also
houses a barbershop, suffered minor damage, she said.
FBI Denver and the Colorado Springs Police Department
are on the scene. A man aged about 40 is a person of interest in the
investigation. He may be driving a 2000 or older-model dirty white pick-up
truck with paneling, a dark-colored bed liner, an open tailgate and a missing
or covered license plate.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
is also investigating the case, according to Christopher Amon, acting spokesman
for the agency's Denver office.
It's not clear whether anyone was inside the National
Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People office when the explosion occurred,
but Gene Southerland, whose barbershop is in the same single-story
building as the NAACP, said he heard the explosion Tuesday morning.
“I made sure my three customers were OK, then walked
outside,” Southerland said. “On the northeast side of the building I saw a red
gas can on the ground. Neighbors started walking out of their houses asking me,
‘What happened, what happened?’”
“It’s messed up, man. It’s horrible,” Southerland said.
“In broad daylight? Just goes to show there’s always a threat.
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COLORADO SPRINGS -
A Colorado Springs neighborhood was shaken Tuesday as a nearby building was rocked by an explosion.
"I
saw all the smoke coming out, and heading south. It really kind of made
your heart stop for a second," said Colorado Springs resident, Julie
Skufca.
Julie Skufca calls Moreno Street home but couldn't
believe what she saw on Tuesday. A white pick-up truck with a
40-year-old white man inside, zipping by their house seconds after the
blast.
"I couldn't figure out how such a new truck made such a big backfire," said Skufca.
The
FBI tells News 5 that an explosive device, next to a gas can was
detonated but the can didn't explode. The blast left singe marks against
the building that houses Mr. G's Hair Design Studios and the local
chapter of the NAACP.
Which is why federal agents are trying to
figure out if this was a targeted attack, something the group's
president says only spurs them on.
"We don't give up the
struggle, apparently we are doing something correct. Apparently we have
the attention of someone that knows we are working for civil rights for
all. That is making some people uncomfortable, so therefore they feel
the need to target," said Colorado Springs NAACP President, Henry Allen
Jr.
And they certainly aren't alone in their frustrations as an
entire neighborhood remains in shock of what happened just feet from
their homes.
"It's kind of sad. I mean it's close to home and
with kids you're kind of like, I guess we won't be going out in the
front yard anymore," said Skufca.
The suspect in this case is
described as a white male in his 40's, balding and heavier set driving a
white pickup truck with paneling, a dark truck-bed and missing or
covered plates.
If you have any information on this case you're asked to contact authorities immediately.