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CNN Saturday Morning News

Pipe Bomb Explosions Injure Five People

Aired May 04, 2002 - 07:13   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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The FBI calls it a case of domestic terrorism: pipe bombs placed in mailboxes left five people injured. Eight bombs were placed in seven counties, three in Illinois, four in Iowa.

We get details from Eric Wilson of our CNN affiliate WREX.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIC WILSON, WREX REPORTER (voice-over): A rural Joe Davis County road turns into a crime scene. Postal inspectors, AFT 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. This was already in the mailbox, this device was?

SILVIA CARRIER, POSTAL INSPECTOR: Yes, the device was already in the mailbox. He was about to deliver 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, Mount Carol, 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 bomber or bombers warn, "More attention getters are on the way." And then this deadly statement, "It seems killing a single famous person would get the same media attention as killing numerous un-famous humans."

(on camera): 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, ILLINOIS: Utilize extreme caution when opening the mailbox. I mean, if they see anything unusual around their mailbox, or if the mailbox is out of place or if it's been moved somehow, call our department.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: That report from Eric Wilson of our CNN affiliate WREX.

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