Investigators on Friday afternoon released this composite sketch of a man wanted for questioning in connection with a bombing of a building housing NAACP offices in Colorado Springs on Tuesday morning.(Photo: FBI)
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Investigators on Friday released a composite sketch of a man wanted for questioning in connection with the bombing of a building housing NAACP offices here, but they refused to speculate on motive.
A makeshift bomb exploded Tuesday morning a few blocks east of downtown Colorado Springs, state's second-largest city. No one was hurt in the small explosion, and investigators say the unsophisticated device caused only minimal damage. Witnesses described the device as a pipe bomb attached to a gasoline can, which didn't ignite.
Speaking at a Friday afternoon news conference, Denver FBI Special-Agent-in-Charge Tom Ravenelle declined to offer specifics about the ongoing investigation, particularly any potential motive. The building houses both the NAACP and a barber shop, and the device exploded on the corner of the building farthest from the NAACP entrance.
"I'm not going to be naive. I know what the NCAAP means to some extremists in this country," Ravanelle said. "We're not going to call it terrorism. We're not going to call it a hate crime. We're going to call it what it is, a bombing investigation."
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Ravanelle, a former bomb tech, declined to discuss the device's design, saying that information is being withheld for investigative purposes. And he urged the public to call police with any tips. Witnesses helped a sketch artist develop the composite, and investigators are offering a $10,000 reward in the case.
"Even the smallest tip may make or break an investigation," Ravanelle said.
The FBI described the person of interest as a white, balding man about 40 years old and driving a newer model white but dirty pickup with a dark bed liner.
Investigators are planning to speak with a man who visited the NAACP offices several weeks ago and was angry about unspecified issues. Ravanelle declined to say whether that man matches the witness descriptions of the man seen leaving the area following the bombing
At the NAACP offices Friday, staffers were trying to get back to work, meeting with clients concerned about racial discrimination around the area. The volunteer staff counsels people and often calls employers to discuss possible discrimination and name-calling, said Carol Chippey-Rhanes, as FBI agents kept an eye on the building.
Although no one was hurt, the attack rattled the staff, who had never considered themselves targets. That being said, many of the staff are former members of the military. They don't scare easily.
"If they wanted to make a point, well, they made it," Chippey-Rhanes, a retired Air Force master sergeant said as the phone rang again. "But they aren't going to stop us. We've had our 15 minutes, and now we've got to get back to work."
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