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CNN Live Saturday

Pipe Bombs Found Across Midwest

Aired May 04, 2002 - 12:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRIS OSBORN, CNN ANCHOR: Five people hurt by mailbox pipe bombs in Iowa and Illinois. The FBI describes the attacks as domestic terrorism. Reporter Eric Wilson with our affiliate station WREX has more from Elizabeth, Illinois.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIC WILSON, WREX REPORTER: A rural Joe Davis County Road turns into a crime scene. Postal inspectors, ATF agents from Rockford, and the FBI and local police all search for clues. About 2:30 in the afternoon a mailman just doing his job on Georgetown Road near Long Hollow had this mailbox blow up in his face.

(on camera): He was delivering mail and this device was already in the mailbox?

SILVIA CARRIER, POSTAL INSPECTOR: Yes, the device was already in the mailbox. He was about to deliver the mail to the box.

WILSON (voice-over): Investigators across a good part of northern Illinois and eastern Iowa are handling similar situations. Eight pipe bombs found in counties stretching across the Mississippi from Illinois into Iowa. Six of them explode, five people are hurt. In Illinois bombs go off in Morrison, Mr. Carroll, and Elizabeth.

CARRIER: It's very uncommon for this to happen at all. We get very few cases where any type of explosive device is ever placed in a mailbox. But based on the evidence that we gather and the information as it comes in we'll find out what exactly happened, why and why it happened in such a small town.

WILSON: One connection may be an anti-government letter found with the bombs. Its theme: the government is controlling us. The bombers warn more attention-getters are on the way. Then this deadly statement: "It seems killing a single famous person would get the same media attention as killing numerous unfamous humans."

WILSON: As the sun sets on the search for evidence, it's not just affecting Joe Davis County, it's got police in surrounding areas, even where no bombs have been found sending out warnings of their own.

SHERIFF DAVID SNYDERS, STEPHENSON COUNTY: Utilize extreme caution when opening the mailbox. If they see anything unusual around their mailbox or if the mailbox is out of place or if it has been moved somehow, call our department.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OSBORN: Again, that report from reporter Eric Wilson with CNN affiliate WREX.

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