Police Detonate Several Pipe Bombs in Palm Springs
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Residents are on edge tonight after several pipe bombs were discovered in a Palm Springs neighborhood. Video by kmir6.com
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PALM SPRINGS--A Palm Springs man out for his daily morning walk found the bombs this morning.
91-year-old Emelio Melilli turned in a similar pipe bomb Wednesday to Palm Springs Police. Thursday morning he found more.
Palm Springs Police sent rovers to detonate the bombs one at a time. One was located on the north side of E San Rafael Drive. A second on the south side of E San Rafael Drive, and a third on the north side of Simms Road.
"Mostly concerned because there's a lot of kids in the neighborhood walking around and it's a possibility that one of those kids could pick up one of those pipes bombs," said Palm Springs resident Ron Shephard.
Police say the pipe bombs were 6 inches long. Three of them were made out of PVC piping, a fourth was metal. All of them had caps at either end of the pipe and fuses.
Melilli found the first pipe bomb Tuesday morning and took it home unaware of what it was. He and his son brought it to the police station Wednesday. Melilli found a second pipe bomb Thursday morning and called police.
"It's highly unusual to find one device, let alone find a few. Our investigators are currently speaking to the individuals and they've been thoroughly cooperative with our investigation," Sergeant Mike Kovaleff said.
Chuck Ailabouni works just feet from where police used robots to diffuse the explosives. He's from the middle east and says he was used to bombs in that desert but not here.
"My parents brought me over here because of what's going on there, but I guess we're facing the same problems over here," Ailabouni said.
Police say the bombs looked new and didn't appear to placed in any strategic locations. They said there's no indication that it's terrorist related, however, the investigation is on-going.
The potentially disastrous discovery was enough to push some residents to the edge. Betsy Bradley says she's selling her home in Palm Springs because the neighborhood has become too dangerous.
"Scary. You know? That's really scary. That should be happening in third world countries, not in Palm Springs," Bradley said.
If you find any suspicious devices, don't touch or move them. Call police immediately. You need to call from a land line telephone, because the static from a cell phone can potentially trigger an explosion.
If you know who placed these bombs in Palm Springs - you are asked to call Palm Springs Police.
--Adrianna Weingold
aweingold@kmir6.com
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