FBI agent: Pipe bombs found in mailboxes in three Midwestern states nearly identical

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Posted 10:34AM on Monday, May 6, 2002

OMAHA, Neb. - Pipe bombs left in mailboxes in Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska were nearly identical and clearly came from the same source, the FBI said Monday. Agent Larry Holmquist said all of the bombs were made with the same materials. The only differences were some slight variations in the detonation mechanisms, he said, refusing to elaborate. "There is no question that these were planted by the same person or persons," Holmquist said. He said letters planted with the bombs, which carry an anti-government message, also were identical. Six people were injured by explosions in Illinois and Iowa on Friday. Two other bombs found in Iowa did not explode. Then, six bombs were found Saturday in rural areas of Nebraska, and a seventh was found Sunday, bringing the total to 15. The Nebraska bombs were all detonated harmlessly by authorities. The bombs come just seven months after the U.S. Postal Service was rocked by an anthrax scare. The Postal Service asked customers in Nebraska, Iowa and northwest Illinois with roadside delivery to secure their mailbox doors open or remove the doors. "We are instructing our carriers not to deliver to any closed receptacles," said Mike Matuzek, Postal Service district manager for Nebraska and southwest Iowa. He called it a temporary precaution. "It is deplorable," he said. "It brings a lot of innocent people into the fray of this thing where they really don't belong." The note found with the bombs warned of more "attention getters," and federal authorities described the bombs as an act of domestic terrorism. In addition to the real bombs, one fake bomb was found Sunday in Nebraska, and 18-year-old man was arrested in that prank, the Postal Service said. Roger Humphries, a Postal Service spokesman, declined to describe the latest devices, saying the agency doesn't want to deal with any more hoaxes. Officials on Sunday renewed pleas that whoever planted the bombs contact them and make their grievances clear. "I hope whoever is responsible would respond," said Thayer County Sheriff David Lee, whose department received a call on one bomb found in a rural mailbox near Davenport on Saturday. Postal officials said the typewritten notes accompanying the bombs said, in part: "If the government controls what you want to do they control what you can do. ... I'm obtaining your attention in the only way I can. More info is on its way. More 'attention getters' are on the way." Officials described the bombs as three-quarter-inch steel pipes attached to 9-volt batteries, and said they appeared to be triggered by being touched or moved. Among the six people injured Friday, only a 61-year-old woman remained hospitalized Sunday. Doris Zimmerman, who lives near Anamosa, Iowa, was listed in fair condition. Mail carrier Lyle Bartels of Ohiowa, Neb., said he'll be cautious when he returns to his route. Two of the pipe bombs found Saturday were in his delivery area. "I'm just going to try to look the boxes over a little bit before I open them," Bartels said. "It's kind of scary." ------ On the Net: Postal Service: http://www.usps.com FBI: http://www.fbi.gov