[Vision2020] FBI: Backpack on Spokane Parade Route Was a Bomb

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of the Spokesman-Review.

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FBI says backpack on Spokane parade route was a bomb
Thomas Clouse, The Spokesman-Review

The abandoned backpack found Monday along the route of Spokane’s annual
Martin Luther King Jr. march contained a bomb capable of inflicting
“multiple casualties,” the FBI has confirmed.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s terrorism task force is offering a
$20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of
those responsible for planting the bomb. The FBI on Tuesday issued a
bulletin asking for the public’s assistance.

Frank Harrill, special agent in the charge of the Spokane FBI office,
would not discuss what specifically made the bomb so dangerous but said
the investigation has become a top priority.

“It definitely was, by all early analysis, a viable device that was very
lethal and had the potential to inflict multiple casualties,” Harrill
said. “Clearly, the timing and placement of a device _ secreted in a
backpack _ with the Martin Luther King parade is not coincidental. We are
doing everything humanly possible to identify the individuals or
individual who constructed and placed this device.”

Ivan Bush, who has helped organize the celebration march in Spokane for
more than 20 years said news of the backpack’s potential was “just painful
to see and hear.”

“Man, that’s a sad testament,” said Bush, who works in human resources for
Spokane Public Schools. “Here we are in the 21st century and these types
of things are still happening. It just hurts.”

The purpose of the march was to bring residents together to celebrate a
man who championed passive resistance, he said.

“This community came together to get a street dedicated to Dr. King and
thousands come out to celebrate him every year,” Bush said. “When
something like this takes place, it’s just painful.”

The bomb was discovered in a Swiss Army-brand backpack that was placed on
a park bench at 9:25 a.m. at the northeast corner of North Washington
Street and West Main Avenue.

Two T-shirts were located in the bag. One reads “Stevens County Relay For
Life June 25th-26th 2010” and another shirt reads “Treasure Island Spring
2009.” The FBI is working with other federal agencies and virtually all
local police agencies with the investigation as part of the Northwest
Joint Terrorism Task Force.

“I think the link to the Martin Luther King celebration and march is
inescapable,” Harrill said. “At that point, it falls directly in the realm
and sphere of domestic terrorism. Clearly, there was some political or
social agenda here.”

Harrill said agents have conducted interviews, but said he could not
discuss any potential suspects.

Meanwhile, federal investigators continue to investigate an explosive
device that was discovered March 23 alongside the Thomas S. Foley U.S.
Courthouse. Harrill said agents have not made an arrest in that previous
case.

“We don’t know, at this point, of any linkage to any other incident,”
Harrill said, referring to the Monday discovery. “We are not aware of any
other events that prefaced this event 
 or threats associated with this
device. Nor does it appear to be linked to any other incidents in Spokane
or anywhere else in the country. But, that certainly is a focus for us.”

Harrill praised the residents who discovered the backpack.

“The individuals who found this backpack, they were the heroes of the day.
They did what we all should do. They brought it to the attention of
police,” Harrill said. “They took quick action, rerouted the parade and
immediately called for the” bomb disposal unit.

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The FBI is seeking information connected to the identity of the person or
persons seen with this Swiss Army-brand backpack. The t-shirts were
contained in the backpack. The backpack was found on a bench at the corner
of North Washington Street and West Main Avenue in Spokane, Wash. on
Monday, Jan. 17, 2011.

http://media.spokesman.com/photos/2011/01/18/SRX_BOMB_THREAT_t620.jpg

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown