San Diego

The Animal Liberation Front claimed credit Wednesday for planting a phony bomb in a women’s restroom near the fur and sportswear departments of The Broadway department store in Fashion Valley. An unidentified man telephoned local media outlets and the manager of the Fashion Valley shopping center about 1 p.m. to say, “We have planted electronically activated devices” in several major department stores. He also claimed to have planted a device in a hotel that was hosting a fur sale. The caller said, “You have two hours.” Employees searched the department stores. At Neiman-Marcus, they turned up a box that was empty. In the restroom at The Broadway, they found a brown paper bag with a photocopied note attached to it that said, “Furs Are Dead.” Inside the bag, the Fire Department bomb squad found an automotive coil connected to a 9-volt battery and a nonflammable powder. Taped to the oblong device was a one-line typed message: “This one is not a real bomb.” The message “Furs Are Dead,” was also scrawled on the walls of the Robinson’s and Neiman-Marcus stores. No one was injured, and shoppers were not evacuated from the stores. A San Diego Police Department spokesman said late Wednesday that no suspects were in custody. The Animal Liberation Front is a militant group that opposes the use of animals for laboratory experiments and the wearing of fur coats.