Salem Bombs Were All Attached to Cars

Police reveal that the two bombs found on the ground actually fell off cars they had been attached to.

Salem-News.com

(SALEM) - Salem Police are releasing more information on last week’s pipe bomb incidents in Salem and Dallas. It now appears that all four bombs were attached to cars owned by south Salem residents.

Two of the pipe bombs were found on the ground; one in the parking lot at Roth’s IGA on Lancaster Drive NE, and one at the intersection of Woodland Drive and Jon Mart in south Salem.

One was discovered attached to a car in a Salem Hospital parking area, and the fourth bomb was found attached to a car at the TYCO Electronics factory in Dallas.

One emerging story is that a south Salem woman called Police to report that she had found a bomb underneath her car. She told police that media reports on the bombs caused her to look underneath, and she observed wires dangling from the car's undercarraige, connected to an explosive device that had been attached.

Sgt. Steve Burr with Salem Police says investigators are following every lead, and they are anxious to get to the bottom of it. Beyond the fact that all four instances involve south Salem residents, nothing adds up, “The disconcerting things for us, is that we see no pattern between these people.” Burr says that some cases involve victims selected for a particular reason or vendetta, “That does not seem to be the case here.”

But all four explosive devices are similar in nature according to Burr, and they appear to originate from the same party. He says that for officers, the particularly unnerving thing, seems to be the way things between the victims do not connect.

Now, Burr says, is a good time for people to check their area, look at their vehicles, and be suspicious of anything that appears out of the ordinary. He says that police don’t want to overreact, but this is a serious set of crimes and as he points out, "somebody could be seriously injured."

“It would not be a bad idea to take a cursory look under their car.” He adds that one check might not be enough.

Not such a bad idea in the wake of one of the craziest days we have seen in Salem in a long time.

Burr did point out another thing; that pipe bombs are not the most uncommon thing police encounter in Marion County. There are many cases over the years, including events where the bombs were actually detonated.