In Oregon, Pipe Bombs Target Hospital, Corporate Facility

Aug. 11, 2006
Four bombs found near Salem, all were legitimate threats

While the world was watching the news as details emerged about the plot to detonate liquid bombs aboard a number of U.S.-bound planes, police in Oregon were dealing with a variety of pipe bombs.

One of the bombs apparently was targeted at a corporate facility owned by Tyco Electronics. It was discovered late Thursday in the parking lot of the facility in Dallas, Ore. According to a report in Salem, Ore.'s Statesman Journal newspaper, the finding of the bomb required that about 60 to 70 workers be evacuated as a state bomb squad dealt with the device.

Three other bombs were found during the day in Salem, Ore. The newspaper reported that the local police had issued a statement describing the incendiary devices as "pipe bombs with some sort of wires."

The first of the four bombs was found by a security guard the town's hospital. Like the device located at the Tyco facility, the device was in a parking area. The parking garage had to be evacuated for the removal and disposal of the pipe bombs.

The impact of security on the hospital required the hospital to cancel its "elective appointments," reported the Statesman Journal, and the hospital followed up with a full search of the hospital and inspection of bags for anyone entering the hospital. The incident essentially shut down the hospital for 3 hours except for vital services. The two other bombs were located at one of the town's grocery stores and on top of a manhole cover in a residential area. According to reports, the devices were legitimate threats and had to be detonated.