FBI Releases Sketch In Colorado Springs Explosion
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4/AP) — The FBI and other law enforcement on Friday released a sketch of someone they call a person of interest in Tuesday's explosion near the Colorado Springs NAACP chapter.
Investigators say they want to talk to a balding white man in his 40s who might be driving a dirty white pickup truck that's older than a 2000 model. The FBI said it had covered license plates and a dark bed liner.
Authorities also announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the explosion.
At a news conference Friday, authorities from the FBI, ATF, Colorado Springs police and the El Paso County Sheriff's office said they didn't have any further information about a motive behind the attack.
"We don't know what the reason is. We're not going to call it terrorism. We're not going to call it a hate crime. Right now, what it is is a bombing investigation," Thomas Ravenelle of the FBI said.
He said the FBI wouldn't speculate on the placement of the device. He only said that the man carried something down the alley prior to the bombing and returned to his truck empty-handed.
Ravenelle didn't offer additional information about the bomb but said it's "not a sophisticated device."
The blast happened Tuesday outside a barbershop that shares a building with the Colorado Springs NAACP chapter. Authorities say a homemade explosive was detonated against the building, but a gas canister placed next to it did not ignite.
There were no injuries and only minor damage.
"The bottom line is somebody placed a bomb outside of a facility with the intent of doing something nefarious. That's enough for us to do the investigation. We don't have to have a certain degree of damage to prosecute somebody on this," Ravenelle said.
The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating because of the proximity to the NAACP office. But authorities do not know whether the nation's oldest civil rights organization was the target.
Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI's tipline at 303 435 7787.
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