Police have leads in pipe bomb case; contractor found first device in Girardville
Jun. 1—GIRARDVILLE — A contractor alerted police to the first of two homemade pipe bombs discovered in the ceiling of a vacant apartment building on Wednesday as police investigate who placed them there and why.
"We have very strong leads," borough police Lt. Jeremy Talanca said in a phone interview on Thursday, noting that state police are leading the investigation with assistance from his department.
State police said their Hazardous Device and Explosives Section responded to 30 W. Main St. at 3:25 p.m. for a report of a possible explosive device found in the ceiling. They said a second "homemade pipe bomb" was found, also in the ceiling, while the apartment was being cleared and they were able to "neutralize" both devices.
The contractor working at the apartment called the Schuylkill County Communications Center after discovering the first device, borough Patrolman Brandon Gonzalez said Thursday. He was the first on scene at about 3 p.m.
Gonzalez, who said he was on-site until 11:45 p.m. Wednesday, was shown a photo of the device by the contractor, and then emailed the photo to Talanca and texted it to a state police corporal. The corporal alerted the state police bomb squad, which arrived about 45 minutes later, Gonzalez said.
Several nearby homes were evacuated and, around 5 p.m., Main Street, the primary thoroughfare in the borough, was blocked off in the immediate area.
The first device was in a black hard-plastic, molded case not unlike those used to store power tools, with various openings and slots. The largest item inside was a white cylindrical device that had a wire running to a terminal with three connectors. The photo showed other wires and a positive-negative cap that looked like it would attach to a 9-volt battery.
The state police bomb squad discovered the second bomb at about 8 p.m. in a different room of the same apartment, said Talanca, officer in charge of the department.
He said it was smaller than the first one.
"It was in a small, cellular phone box," Talanca said.
Both were X-rayed before being "neutralized" by bomb technicians who believed it was more prudent to detonate them in the vacant building rather than to move them.
"Explosives are very erratic sometimes," Talanca said, who didn't arrive at the scene until about 10 p.m. but was in contact with those who were there throughout the ordeal.
When the first device was detonated at about 6:45 p.m., someone could be heard shouting "fire in the hole" three times before a "boom" was heard throughout the neighborhood.
Neighbors react
A representative of the borough posted a "Danger" sign on the door Thursday of the apartment, declaring it unsafe for occupancy.
Bill Stauffer, 84, who has lived for 20 years in an apartment at 32 W. Main St. — the original address given for Wednesday's bomb location — wasn't home at the time but knew about the incident through media reports and a voicemail from his property manager.
"She sounded nervous," he said of the person with Pottsville Rentals.
He left his apartment at noon to drive to Reading and didn't return until 8 a.m. Thursday.
He said there are two apartments next door, both vacant. The apartment where the pipe bombs were discovered has been vacant for about a month, he said. A couple with a newborn baby lived there for about a year, he said.
Before them, a woman, her sister and two young girls lived there.
On the second floor, a man, woman and young girl had been there for about three years, he said.
Though he has no idea why someone would put a bomb in the ceiling, he said, "I've been around a long time. Nothing surprises me."
Eamonn Godsell, 62, who lives at 12 W. Main St., was home at the time but left to go to Frackville about 6:30 p.m, and came home about 9 p.m.
He was surprised the bombs were found so close to home.
"It's a pretty quiet town," he said.
Contact the writer: hlee@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6085
