So today it was exactly 1236.
We were dispatched to a possible pipe bomb.
There was a gentleman who
called it in and reported it.
We arrived shortly on the scene,
determined that it was a possible threat.
So we secured the area where we knew
the blast would probably be an issue.
We didn't close down Safeway based
on the type of the building,
the structure of the building,
the proximity where the device was found,
and one of our officers.
Was actually a former explosive
expert engineer from the Marine Corps,
so we kind of leaned on him a little bit.
We set up an initial perimeter,
and then we obviously notified Arapahoe
County Sheriff Bomb squad immediately.
They have,
we have a great relationship with
the Arapahoe County bomb squad,
and we work very closely with
them in situations such as this.
So when they arrived on the scene,
they did use the robot who went in and
determined that it was a live bomb.
We're still working to discover
the exact type of explosives
that were inside that pipe bomb.
And then they.
The experts did what they did and they
went and they were able to dismantle
the device and then there was no
longer a threat right now to the community.
So what caused it to not go off?
I know I had asked you that prior.
You know, at this time it is
an ongoing investigation,
so we are not sure what
caused it to not go off.
But that is definitely
something that the people behind
me right now are looking into and
that's why they're collecting
everything that they are collecting.
Is there a camera nearby?
A surveillance camera?
That's a great question.
And again, our, our investigators are
on the scene behind me and there's
a church that we believe right next
to it might have some camera footage
and we're looking into if Safeway
has any camera footage because we
definitely want to find whoever,
whoever did this who found it.
There was a gentleman who
was actually working in safe.
He doesn't work for Safeway,
but he was doing some
construction or some.
The brain is escaping me.
Contract work.
He was doing some contract work
and he walked out the side and
then noticed it on the ground.
Now we saw that there was a timer on it on
the top but did not have any time left on it.
Do you know what the details all the time?
I don't know the details of the
timer other than it was broken
when we found it so I'm not sure.
I don't want to speculate right now if
that has anything to do with the why, but
I can tell you we don't know.
There was a time there
was a timer on top of it.
How long do you think it was there for?
That is a great question as well.
Again, we're going to review camera footage.
We're going to review everything
that we possibly can to determine
when and how long it has been here.
But that is something that's part
of the ongoing investigation.
And it's scary to know that it was a real
pipe bomb. But obviously the public was not
threatened in any way
if the stores were open, correct.
I mean, in the
immediate blast area where you can see
and you can see the type of structure
that that building is made out of,
it was determined that
when we saw that device,
what kind of damage it would cause.
And that's why we immediately
secured that area.
But that is also why we made the decision.
Because, you know,
it's never our goal to disrupt.
We wanna do our job and keep
everybody safe as possible.
But we also don't want to
disrupt the community if we,
if we don't have to, our local
businesses. I don't understand
if it's a live bomb.
While you explain that to me,
if the timer was broken,
but it was a live bomb,
so it wasn't a failed bomb.
I don't know if I'd call it a
failed bomb right now at this time.
I'm just saying that it
was a active pipe bomb.
And what we mean by that is sometimes.
You'll find a device that is not
actually an explosive device.
A lot of times people feel the need to.
Put something fake that looks like it
might be a live bomb when it's done.
And we do sometimes determine, oh,
this is not and was never going to
possibly explode where this is an act,
but we treat it the same.
So if we see something that
looks like a pipe bomb,
we're going to treat it
like it as a live device.
It is scary though, that yes,
we did discover it is an it
was an explosive device.
It
was a bomb. So obviously
whoever placed it there had
the intentions of it going off.
I would. We can't assume. But
I mean, again, I, you know I can't.
Lead to the intentions of who did that.
But I can definitely promise you
that we are doing a very thorough
investigation and that we we will
do everything we can to figure out
who who dropped it off and why.
You told us off camera.
But the dogs, a lot of people care
about the dogs when they came in.
Why did you guys bring them in?
Yeah, absolutely. So obviously,
number one priority is safety.
That is why we used immediately the robot.
And then following that,
that was an information gathering.
They've got tons of cameras on that
robot where we can see exactly what the
robot sees and then we can determine
if we need an expert to go in.
The Arapahoe County Sheriff's
Department did send in an expert,
and he was able to diffuse the device.
But following that,
we want to understand everything
that we can about it.
And that's why we sent the dogs in
was to determine what exact type
of explosives. Work in the
device because there's different
ways that different bombs are made.
So that's where the dogs are there.
The dogs are also there.
Gathering that information with our
crime lab experts because again,
we are gathering as much evidence
as we possibly can to catch
the individual who did this.
And now they're going to take it.
I would have to defer to the
Rapahoe county bomb squad.
They're the experts in this case,
but one of them did tell me now
that it's no longer a threat,
they will take it to an off-site
location where they can completely
destroy it and make sure it's no
longer a threat anywhere else.
What kind of charges could the person? Ohh,
that is a great question that I
don't have the answer to right now,
but I can definitely get back
to you and I'll be sending out a
release as well and I'll be happy to
include that in there. Yeah,
Safeway is going to be open normal
hours the rest of the night
I believe, so I don't
see a reason why not. And
I don't know if you can speak to
this, but what kind of damage?
Yeah, I honestly I can't speculate on
that just because I'm not a bomb expert.
I just know that the Littleton
Police Department treats everything
very seriously, whether it's
a fake bomb or a real bomb threat.
We just are. Our number one priority is the
safety of the Community.
And you said it was based off
the location and the size and
like the building structures.
Why you guys didn't evacuate safely, correct?
Correct. It was determined that if it did
go off, it would just affect the area
that we did close down.
How long was the bomb?
That is a good question.
I'm not. I'm not sure. I never.
I didn't see it just because.
Out of my safety,
they wouldn't let me go over there.