Chrissy Zehrbach
Editor in Chief
The Los Angeles County Sheriff Bomb Squad was called Tuesday to detonate a bomb in the 2400 block of Foothill Boulevard in La Verne.
The bomb, originally found at the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Garey Avenue in Pomona by a teenage boy, was brought to the Target Center and placed in a planter on the northeast corner along Towne Center Drive, Lt. Darryl Seube said.
“A father brought a pipe bomb that his son had found,” said Sgt. Nick Paz, the officer in charge of the scene Tuesday. “He became concerned and didn’t know what to do so he flagged down a police officer.”
The La Verne police department received a call at 8:41 a.m. and upon reaching the scene, cordoned off the area, evacuated local businesses and called the bomb squad.
“They detonated it with another explosive device,” Seube said.
With the help of the fire department, the area was searched for additional explosives, but none were found.
Paz said the bomb, identified as a pipe bomb, had been found in a black nylon bag.
Seube said no explanation was given as to why the bomb had been transported by vehicle.
“First of all they shouldn’t transport it,” Paz said. “They should just leave it where it is and call the police immediately.”
LVPD has no leads thus far as to the origin of the bomb, but plan to investigate further, unless someone comes forward and tells them who made it, Seube said.
However, some of the parts necessary for a chemical analysis could not be recovered, Seube added, also stating that this often happens when detonating bombs that are made with fairly volatile substances.
“We need to have physical evidence (for an investigation),” Seube said.
The LACSD Bomb Squad refused to comment pending LVPD investigation.
Chrissy Zehrbach can be reached at sqweet@aol.com.
