Federal Bureau of Investigation

Person in Custody in Oklahoma Pipe Bomb Blast: FBI

Rice says the final determination on whether to label the act as terrorism rests with the FBI and that it is currently a criminal investigation into the use of an explosive devic

The FBI says agents investigating a pipe bomb explosion outside an Air Force recruiting station in Oklahoma now have a person of interest in custody.

FBI agent Jessi Rice said Tuesday the person is being questioned, but that she could not give that person's name. Rice said investigators found the person at a Tulsa-area apartment complex.

Earlier Tuesday, federal authorities walked back an assertion that the explosion in the Tulsa suburb of Bixby was being investigated as a possible act of domestic terrorism. They said they were unsure of a motive, but that the blast could be the work of a disgruntled employee or a prank.

Rice said the final determination on whether to label the act as terrorism rests with the FBI. It is currently a criminal investigation into the use of an explosive device.

Federal authorities said a device was set off around 10:30 p.m. Monday in front of the recruiting center in the Tulsa suburb of Bixby. The center was closed at the time and no one was injured. Authorities declined to specify the nature of the device.

The door of the center was blown off in the blast and landed in a parking space in front of the storefront and soot-covered windows. The office is situated in a commercial area that also houses small businesses, restaurants and financial planning firms. There is a movie theater nearby.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had said earlier that agents were treating the late Monday explosion as a possible act of domestic terrorism out of "an abundance of caution," because of its proximity to the recruiting office.

Rice says the final determination on whether to label the act as terrorism rests with the FBI and that it is currently a criminal investigation into the use of an explosive device.

Rice says agents are still seeking video in the area for possible clues.

"There's no doubt that military offices have been targeted in shootings and explosions in the past, but we also see people blowing off their fingers or blowing up their garages," Davis said. "And sometimes people see cops make a U-turn and they throw stuff, or see them coming and throw something."

ATF and FBI agents are scouring the area for video surveillance that might have captured someone placing the device or could show a vehicle containing suspects, Davis said.

"It's a two-pronged investigation," she said. "There will be work being conducted on scene and being conducted in the field, such as interviews and recovery of (video) surveillance."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us