RBP
01-10-2015, 12:59 PM
http://i.imgur.com/knYzhNw.jpg
COLORADO SPRINGS — Officials released a composite sketch Friday of a person of interest in the bombing of a building that houses a chapter of the NAACP, saying their investigation is still in its early stages and very much ongoing.
The FBI would not speculate about a motive in Tuesday's bombing, reiterating earlier proclamations that they are exploring all possibilities in why someone appears to have targeted an unassuming, one-story red building in a neighborhood south of downtown.
"I'm not going to be naive, I know what the NAACP means to some extremists in this country," FBI Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle, the only official to speak at Friday's media briefing, said.
The sketch is of a balding white man about 40 seen dropping something off and leaving the scene just before the device went off, officials said. Federal law enforcement is offering a $10,000 reward for anyone with information leading to an arrest (call: 303-425-7787).
Officials said they believe only one person was responsible for the apparent attack.
Representatives from the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Colorado Springs police, Fountain police and the El Paso County Sheriff's Office all attended Friday's news conference at the Colorado Springs police operations headquarters.
"We've gotten some tips, but I wouldn't say it's a large amount of tips," Ravenelle said at the press conference, which was heavily attended by local and national media outlets.
"We're definitely looking for the public's help."
The Colorado Springs chapter of the NAACP reopened Thursday, roughly two days after the improvised explosive device shuttered their building and set off an outcry across the country.
No one was injured in the 10 a.m. blast Tuesday on the 600 block of South El Paso Street in a quiet neighborhood south of downtown Colorado Springs.The building that houses the NAACP offices and a neighboring barber shop — Mr. G's Hair Design Studio — sustained only minor damage.
A gas can placed next to the device did not ignite, but the explosion was so loud it sounded to one man in the building like a shotgun blast being fired near his head. Ravenelle said even if the gas can had ignited, he felt it wouldn't have caused a significant amount of further damage.
Officials described the device as unsophisticated, declining to comment further.
"This type of criminal act is unacceptable," Steve Bach, mayor of Colorado Springs, said in a statement Thursday. "I expect that law enforcement will work together to solve this crime and bring the responsible individual to justice. There is no place for this type of activity in our city."
Federal authorities again said they have not officially determined whether the NAACP chapter or the neighboring barbershop was the target of the bombing. But the owner of that shop, Gene Southerland, is adamant the blast could not have been aimed at him.
"Everybody loves me," Southerland, a longtime community fixture, said on Wednesday.
Officials say the person of interest, seen leaving after the explosion by neighbors, may be driving a 2000 or older model, dirty, white pickup truck with paneling, a dark-colored bed liner, open tailgate and a missing or covered license plate," the FBI said.
COLORADO SPRINGS — Officials released a composite sketch Friday of a person of interest in the bombing of a building that houses a chapter of the NAACP, saying their investigation is still in its early stages and very much ongoing.
The FBI would not speculate about a motive in Tuesday's bombing, reiterating earlier proclamations that they are exploring all possibilities in why someone appears to have targeted an unassuming, one-story red building in a neighborhood south of downtown.
"I'm not going to be naive, I know what the NAACP means to some extremists in this country," FBI Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle, the only official to speak at Friday's media briefing, said.
The sketch is of a balding white man about 40 seen dropping something off and leaving the scene just before the device went off, officials said. Federal law enforcement is offering a $10,000 reward for anyone with information leading to an arrest (call: 303-425-7787).
Officials said they believe only one person was responsible for the apparent attack.
Representatives from the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Colorado Springs police, Fountain police and the El Paso County Sheriff's Office all attended Friday's news conference at the Colorado Springs police operations headquarters.
"We've gotten some tips, but I wouldn't say it's a large amount of tips," Ravenelle said at the press conference, which was heavily attended by local and national media outlets.
"We're definitely looking for the public's help."
The Colorado Springs chapter of the NAACP reopened Thursday, roughly two days after the improvised explosive device shuttered their building and set off an outcry across the country.
No one was injured in the 10 a.m. blast Tuesday on the 600 block of South El Paso Street in a quiet neighborhood south of downtown Colorado Springs.The building that houses the NAACP offices and a neighboring barber shop — Mr. G's Hair Design Studio — sustained only minor damage.
A gas can placed next to the device did not ignite, but the explosion was so loud it sounded to one man in the building like a shotgun blast being fired near his head. Ravenelle said even if the gas can had ignited, he felt it wouldn't have caused a significant amount of further damage.
Officials described the device as unsophisticated, declining to comment further.
"This type of criminal act is unacceptable," Steve Bach, mayor of Colorado Springs, said in a statement Thursday. "I expect that law enforcement will work together to solve this crime and bring the responsible individual to justice. There is no place for this type of activity in our city."
Federal authorities again said they have not officially determined whether the NAACP chapter or the neighboring barbershop was the target of the bombing. But the owner of that shop, Gene Southerland, is adamant the blast could not have been aimed at him.
"Everybody loves me," Southerland, a longtime community fixture, said on Wednesday.
Officials say the person of interest, seen leaving after the explosion by neighbors, may be driving a 2000 or older model, dirty, white pickup truck with paneling, a dark-colored bed liner, open tailgate and a missing or covered license plate," the FBI said.