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Bombs Explode In Rural Mailboxes
URBANDALE, Iowa (AP) - Pipe bombs accompanied by anti-government propaganda exploded Friday in five mailboxes in rural parts of Illinois and Iowa, an attack authorities called domestic terrorism. Five people were injured, none seriously.
A note found with the bombs said more "attention getters" were on the way. It was signed "someone who cares."
Authorities did not immediately announce any suspects. The Postal Service suspended delivery service through Saturday in the agricultural region that straddles the Mississippi River, and urged residents not to remove any devices they might find in their mailboxes.
"We are reviewing this as a domestic terrorism incident," said James Bogner, an FBI (news - web sites) spokesman. "We don't know if all the devices have been found or there are devices remaining ... We probably won't know for a while."
In all, eight devices were found and five exploded. The bombs were not sent by mail but were instead placed in the mailboxes and set to detonate when the boxes were opened, investigators said.
Postal Service Inspector Linda Jensen said consistencies in placement suggested the bombs were linked, but that did not mean just one person was involved.
Bombs were found in Morrison, Mount Carroll and Elizabeth in Illinois, and in Asbury, Farley, Tipton, Anamosa and a farm outside Davenport in Iowa. The communities all can be reached within a day's drive.
Three letter carriers and two customers were injured in the bombings. None of the injuries was considered life threatening, but Carroll County, Ill., Sheriff Rod Herrick warned residents against opening their mailboxes.
"I don't want kids getting off the bus and opening the mailbox, or people coming home from work and opening their mailbox," he said. "Don't touch your mailbox until further notice."
Marjorie Zuidema said she and her husband, Robert, heard something that sounded "like a bird hitting a window, but a lot louder," when her mailbox in rural Morrison, Ill., exploded Friday afternoon.
By the time she discovered what had happened, "the police and FBI, postal inspectors, just about everybody" was at the end of her driveway.
She said she feels fortunate that she did not have to go to the mailbox.
"It makes you wonder," she said. "You just don't think of things happening to you in a little town."
Postal Service vice president Azeezaly Jaffer said the bombs were accompanied by a typewritten note that began: "Mailboxes are exploding! Why, you ask?"
Then it 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."
The letter also said: "If I could, I would change only one person, unfortunately the resources are not accessible. It seems killing a single famous person would get the same media attention as killing numerous un-famous humans."
The bombs appeared to be triggered by being touched or moved. Jensen described the devices as three-quarter inch steel pipes with a 9-volt battery attached. Accompanying the bomb was a clear plastic bag containing the note.
Postal Service spokeswoman Joleen Baxa said mail delivery was suspended through Saturday in all areas east of Cedar Rapids and in northern Illinois.
One of the explosions happened just north of Dubuque. Witnesses said the bomb went off when a letter carrier opened a mailbox from the passenger side of a vehicle, leaving a small hole in the door and injuring the carrier's arm.
Donna Millwright, a letter carrier in Dubuque County for 22 years, stopped her deliveries when she heard news of the explosion.
"I don't want to get blown up," she said. "I've seen plenty of things in mailboxes, but never a bomb
A note found with the bombs said more "attention getters" were on the way. It was signed "someone who cares."
Authorities did not immediately announce any suspects. The Postal Service suspended delivery service through Saturday in the agricultural region that straddles the Mississippi River, and urged residents not to remove any devices they might find in their mailboxes.
"We are reviewing this as a domestic terrorism incident," said James Bogner, an FBI (news - web sites) spokesman. "We don't know if all the devices have been found or there are devices remaining ... We probably won't know for a while."
In all, eight devices were found and five exploded. The bombs were not sent by mail but were instead placed in the mailboxes and set to detonate when the boxes were opened, investigators said.
Postal Service Inspector Linda Jensen said consistencies in placement suggested the bombs were linked, but that did not mean just one person was involved.
Bombs were found in Morrison, Mount Carroll and Elizabeth in Illinois, and in Asbury, Farley, Tipton, Anamosa and a farm outside Davenport in Iowa. The communities all can be reached within a day's drive.
Three letter carriers and two customers were injured in the bombings. None of the injuries was considered life threatening, but Carroll County, Ill., Sheriff Rod Herrick warned residents against opening their mailboxes.
"I don't want kids getting off the bus and opening the mailbox, or people coming home from work and opening their mailbox," he said. "Don't touch your mailbox until further notice."
Marjorie Zuidema said she and her husband, Robert, heard something that sounded "like a bird hitting a window, but a lot louder," when her mailbox in rural Morrison, Ill., exploded Friday afternoon.
By the time she discovered what had happened, "the police and FBI, postal inspectors, just about everybody" was at the end of her driveway.
She said she feels fortunate that she did not have to go to the mailbox.
"It makes you wonder," she said. "You just don't think of things happening to you in a little town."
Postal Service vice president Azeezaly Jaffer said the bombs were accompanied by a typewritten note that began: "Mailboxes are exploding! Why, you ask?"
Then it 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."
The letter also said: "If I could, I would change only one person, unfortunately the resources are not accessible. It seems killing a single famous person would get the same media attention as killing numerous un-famous humans."
The bombs appeared to be triggered by being touched or moved. Jensen described the devices as three-quarter inch steel pipes with a 9-volt battery attached. Accompanying the bomb was a clear plastic bag containing the note.
Postal Service spokeswoman Joleen Baxa said mail delivery was suspended through Saturday in all areas east of Cedar Rapids and in northern Illinois.
One of the explosions happened just north of Dubuque. Witnesses said the bomb went off when a letter carrier opened a mailbox from the passenger side of a vehicle, leaving a small hole in the door and injuring the carrier's arm.
Donna Millwright, a letter carrier in Dubuque County for 22 years, stopped her deliveries when she heard news of the explosion.
"I don't want to get blown up," she said. "I've seen plenty of things in mailboxes, but never a bomb
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****ing people that is responsible for this should be thrown under the jail when they are caught.
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