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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Flashlight bombs rattle Phoenix
Bombs left randomly, explode when used
One of 20 public service announcement billboards on display across the Phoenix metro area. Police have taken the unusual step of placing the announcements after three bombs disguised as flashlights have exploded in the past month. (ROSS D. FRANKLIN / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)
PHOENIX -- Flick the switch on these flashlights and they don't light up - they blow up.
Three of these bombs have exploded within the last month in the Phoenix area, causing injuries to five people.
Police still have no idea who is behind them and have taken the unusual step of putting up 22 billboards across the sprawling metro area to warn residents about discarded flashlights.
"The nature of the bombings are so random," said Tom Mangan, a special agent at the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in Phoenix.
Mangan said the agency has ruled out any connection to terrorism because the targets have been random and there have been no messages or demands.
The ATF said the bombs appear to have been made by the same person or people because their design was identical.
An explosive was placed inside the flashlights with a smaller battery, and rigged so turning it on would send an electrical current that triggered the blast, Mangan said. He declined to identify the explosive material.
The first bomb was spotted by a passerby on May 13 in a suburb just west of Phoenix. It was sitting behind a palm tree in a strip mall and blew up when it was clicked on.
The next day, about 15 kilometres away, a landscaper found a flashlight in an irrigation ditch. It, too, exploded when he flicked the switch, authorities said.
The third bomb exploded on May 24 at a Salvation Army distribution center near downtown Phoenix, about 17 kilometres from the first explosion.
An employee detonated the device while sorting through donations, forcing 120 people in the store to evacuate. Jon Bierd, production manager at the facility, said the worker suffered a small abrasion to his forehead.
The Salvation Army has stopped accepting donations of flashlights. Since the explosion, employees have not seen any flashlights matching the yellow one seen on the billboards.
"If we have a flashlight that's heavy or is not empty, then I'd call the Phoenix Police Department. No matter where it is, we do not touch it," said Bierd, who is setting aside any flashlight that is donated.
In addition to the billboards, police are offering a $10,000 reward for tips that lead to an arrest or conviction.
Police received dozens of calls reporting possible flashlight bombs that either turned out to be false alarms or hoaxes, including one from a Goodwill store.
Meanwhile, the bombings have stopped, though it is unclear whether there are more flashlights out there.
The attention may have scared them off or they may gain confidence and strike again as the investigation stretches on without an arrest, criminal profiler Gregg McCrary said.
Mangan said his agency and others are concerned the bombings will resume, possibly in a different container. They're also worried the injuries won't be so minor next time.
-- The Associated Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 9, 2012 A29
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