3 mailbox bombs hit near Spokane

JOHN K. WILEY, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Originally published Friday, May 10, 2002

SPOKANE -- At least three small bombs made with drain cleaner exploded in mailboxes in northern parts of Spokane County this week, the U.S. Postal Service said Thursday.

There were no injuries, and postal inspectors believe the bombs were pranks, said Dennis Larsen, a postal inspector in Spokane.

"To us, it does look like a prank and nothing like what we experienced in the Midwest," Spokane County Sheriff Mark Sterk said at a news conference outside the Spokane Post Office.

Inspectors said the bombs are much different from the pipe bombs that have exploded in Midwest mailboxes recently.

The bombs are soft drink bottles filled with a caustic liquid and a crumpled ball of aluminum foil. A chemical reaction causes the contents to expand and burst the bottle, postal inspectors said.

"They are not highly explosive, but the caustic contents are Drano and they can burn," Postal Inspector Larry Carlier said. "We're almost certain it is a prank, but if someone is on top of one of these, they could get a face full of lye."

"We think someone is just being stupid," said Karen Querna, who lives in the area where the bombs were found. "They heard about the story back East and decided to try the same thing here."

Fliers were being distributed to people who live along the rural postal route in northern Spokane County, telling them to be on the lookout for the devices, Carlier said.

The devices exploded in mailboxes along Farwell Road, North Little Spokane Road and North Shady Slope Road near the town of Colbert, Carlier said. The devices were found on the same carrier route about 15 miles northeast of Spokane, he said.

"It is believed that these devices are being placed by juveniles as pranks," he said.

The first was found Monday and two more on Wednesday, Carlier said. Postal inspectors got word of the first explosion Wednesday and learned of the Wednesday explosions Thursday morning, Carlier said.

A mail carrier found the first device intact and contacted authorities. It was later detonated, Carlier said. Authorities are investigating reports of a fourth incident, he said.

Postal officials are asking for help in finding the culprits. Damaging mailboxes is a federal offense with a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

"We don't feel like these people are doing this with the intent to injure anyone," Sterk said, adding that he expects the case to be wrapped up "fairly quickly."

The Olympian Copyright 2002

back to Terror in America index