|
Police investigate a bombing at a home |
Police are investigating three separate incidents early Tuesday in which homemade explosive devices were thrown into or placed near area residences.
The first occurred about 4 a.m. in Fredericksburg, while the next two took place in Stafford County. No one was injured in the explosions, but there was property damage at all three residences, police said.
Sources said police on Tuesday were actively looking for a man believed to have been involved in the explosions, but the man was not named or referred to in official police releases.
Sources said the man, who is already wanted on unrelated charges in Stafford, was apparently targeting two Stafford deputies and an ex-girlfriend in one of the county residences.
Stafford sheriff's Maj. David Decatur would not comment on whether county deputies were targeted or whether police were looking for a specific suspect, but he did say that police believe all three incidents are related.
Fredericksburg police spokeswoman Natatia Bledsoe said city police and firefighters responded to a reported explosion inside a home in the 3100 block of Normandy Avenue about 4 a.m.
A woman who was there alone when the device went off got out of the home safely, along with her dog.
A Virginia State Police bomb dog searched the residence and found no additional devices.
Bledsoe said the blast blew a hole in the ceiling, significantly damaged three rooms and shattered many windows.
At 4:33 a.m., Stafford deputies responded to a home in Kings Grant subdivision in the western end of the county for what was initially reported as a shot fired into a residence.
Decatur said police later learned that a homemade incendiary device was thrown into the residence, breaking a window.
The home had minor damage, Decatur said, but none of the residents was hurt.
About an hour and 20 minutes later, at 5:53 a.m., deputies went to Country Ridge subdivision off Garrisonville Road after an explosion outside a residence was reported. Someone had thrown or placed the device at the back of the home, Decatur said, causing minor property damage.
In addition to Stafford and Fredericksburg police, the Stafford Fire Marshal's Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and state police are among those working on the investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to call city police at 540/373-3122 or the Stafford Sheriff's Office at 540/658-4400.
Keith Epps: 540/374-5404
Email: kepps@freelancestar.com
