“There is no information to indicate that it may happen again,” said Reginald Ferguson, assistant commissioner of police with responsibility for crime. “Elementary investigations being unearth, says this might just be isolated to this particular household.”
However, Mr. Ferguson is calling on Sea Breeze residents, who may have seen anything suspicious, to come forward.
Shortly after 7am Saturday, three homemade bombs were found outside the home of Bishop Ian Strachan, the Pastor of Soul Winners House of Prayer on Third Street , the Grove.
The Bishop’s 14-year-old son made the discovery.
The pipe bombs were placed near the gas tank of the Bishop’s house, located just off the C.W. Saunders Highway , in Sea Breeze.
The bombs were reportedly packed with fireworks, gunpowder, and gasoline.
Initially, it was unclear whether the pipe bomb suspect randomly planted the explosive device. Now, the police say the home was specifically targeted.
“From all indications it was not random and we are certainly investigating to try and determine who is responsible for this,” Mr. Ferguson said. “It is not that difficult for someone to get the type of expertise they need to make pipe bombs because the information is available on the Inter-net. I am sure that what is happening in the U.S. is not going unnoticed.”
Based on a police bomb expert report, the devices were built to explode, not to frighten.
The Bishop’s 24-year-old daughter, Tina Strachan, said the family believes the bombs were planted shortly before 11pm Friday. At that time the family heard a noise outside, but assumed it was the dog.
“The wind [put] out the detonator,” Ms. Strachan said. “If it continued to burn it would have exploded and this whole house would have been destroyed and we would have all been killed.”
Her message to the pipe bomb’s creator: “You will be found and prosecuted.”
If apprehended, the pipe bomber is looking at a six-month jail sentence or $700 fine under the Explosive Device Act. If anyone was seriously injured, the matter skyrockets to a capital offence.
