3 Pipe Bombs Are Detonated in Huntington Beach

Huntington Beach police alerted residents Thursday to three recent pipe bomb explosions in residential areas and asked that they report any suspicious activities.

The devices were made of galvanized pipe and black powder and had the potential to cause serious injury, said Huntington Beach Police Lt. David Bunetta. No injuries were reported.

The devices were placed against concrete retaining walls. The first damaged phone wire near Holland Drive and Marken Lane and was discovered about 9:50 p.m. on Aug. 31 by a telephone company repairman, police said.

A second detonated about 12:30 a.m. on Labor Day near Frankfort Avenue and Hill Street. Residents, who heard the explosion, reported it to police.

At about the same time three miles away, remnants of a third device were found on a resident’s patio near Pacific Coast Highway and 12th Street. The homeowner didn’t hear it detonate, but police found remnants as far as 200 feet away.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad investigated, which is routine in such incidents, Bunetta said.

“We don’t have any indication that it’s terrorist related,” he said. “But since 9/11, we view these incidents from a different perspective.”

If a person is arrested in the incidents, he would face a felony charge of use of a destructive device, police said.

Police want to question a man who was seen near the Frankfort and Hill incident. He is said to be white, in his early 20s and about 6-feet tall. He was wearing denim shorts, a white T-shirt, a dark baseball cap and possibly a white nylon windbreaker, police said.

Anyone with information can call Investigator Phil Gasca at (714) 536-5956.