Friday, November 14th, 2014
Pipe bomb found in Coldwater safely detonated
Residents evacated from apartments, nearby homes
By Kathy Thompson
COLDWATER - The Lima Bomb Squad on Thursday night safely detonated a pipe bomb found at a vacant apartment in the village.
Coldwater Police Chief Jason Miller said the owner of the two-story duplex went to clean out the apartment at 321 E. College St. when he found what appeared to be a homemade pipe bomb in the back of a kitchen drawer about 7:30 p.m.
"He took the item out of the house and laid it down by the garage in the back and called us immediately," Miller said.
When officers arrived, they called the Coldwater Fire Department which assisted in evacuating residents from homes in the immediate area.
"Most of the people went to a relative's house or elsewhere," Miller said. "We evacuated about three or four homes on each side of the duplex, just to be sure."
Officers also set up roadblocks preventing traffic from traveling within two blocks of the area.
The bomb squad arrived about 9:30 p.m. and placed sandbags around the 6-inch metal pipe with two end caps and wick displayed at one end, Miller said.
Curious neighbors periodically came outside to see why 20 police officers and firefighters were blocking off the surrounding streets, but with a frigid temperature of barely 20 degrees, they quickly retreated to homes or vehicles.
About 10:15 p.m. a loud bang and small flash occurred as the squad safely detonated the bomb. Miller and other officers then searched the apartment but no other hazardous items were located, he said.
Police currently don't know who placed the pipe bomb in the house, Miller said. The landlord is not sure how long it had been in the apartment, the chief added.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call the Coldwater Police Department at 419-678-2356.
