Bomb Explodes in Spokane City Hall; No Injuries

A shrapnel-filled pipe bomb exploded in a doorway of City Hall early Monday, hurling 3-inch nails more than a block away into a park. It was the Spokane Valley’s third bombing in less than a month.

The building was unoccupied and no one was injured in the 3 a.m. blast, officials said. Heavy oak doors deflected the force of the explosion.

“Why a shrapnel bomb would be used at that hour in such an uninhabited location, we don’t know, unless it’s a message, or a warning, or a practice run,” Police Chief Terry Mangan said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, and police found no notes or other written materials with the debris.

Mangan also said police “simply do not know” if the explosion was related to other bombings, such as a package that detonated Monday morning at a Jewish center in Calgary, Alberta, 300 miles to the northeast in Canada.

A bomb squad searched City Hall for other explosives, and employees were allowed into the building about 1:30 p.m. Officials arranged for heightened security for a City Council meeting Monday night.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the FBI were called in, and city employees searched other municipal buildings, Spokane International Airport, bridges and communication sites as a precaution. No other devices were found, Mangan said.

It wasn’t known whether the blast was intended to divert attention from some other crime or was related to bombings April 1 at a newspaper office and bank in Spokane.