Bank Blast Kills 2 In Oregon

Police Officer, Bomb Technician Dead, Police Chief Hurt When Suspicious Package Explodes At Wells Fargo Branch

(CBS/AP)  Oregon State Police say a bomb explosion at a Woodburn-area bank killed a local police officer and a state bomb disposal technician.

The police said Saturday both were dead at the scene of the explosion the day before, but the police had delayed announcing the death of Senior Trooper William Hakim so his family could be notified.

No suspects are yet in custody, officials said Saturday.

"That person is dangerous and needs to be found as soon as possible," said Lt. Gregg Hastings, spokesman for the Oregon State Police.

The explosion occurred late Friday afternoon after police arrived at the West Coast Bank branch office to check a suspicious device.

Late Friday, police said a Woodburn police officer died from the explosion. On Saturday, the State Police said one of their bomb technicians had also died at the scene.

The dead were identified as Hakim and Woodburn police Capt. Tom Tennant, both 51.

Woodburn Police Chief Scott Russell, 46, was injured and in critical condition at a Portland hospital.

Police wouldn't discuss a possible motive for the bombing.

State police say the inside of the bank was extensively damaged, and a female employee was treated at Salem Hospital and released. Another bank employee was uninjured.

Hastings declined to describe the bomb in detail but indicated it was powerful.

A bank employee found the bomb in bushes outside the bank, and officers took it inside, when it exploded.

There was no explanation Saturday for their action.

"That we don't know," Hastings said when asked why the bomb had been taken inside.

Police sealed the area around the bank, and it remained closed Saturday. "There's no indication of further devices," Hastings said.

The explosion at 5:24 p.m. Friday followed a bomb threat call to a nearby Wells Fargo branch bank. The State Police said Saturday that investigators found "a suspicious object" that turned out to be harmless.

But the police said their investigation "led next door to the West Coast Bank," where the bomb was found.

Hastings said he didn't know of any grudges against the West Coast Bank.

Federal authorities said Saturday they were offering a $35,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.

Anyone with information is being urged to call the ATF hotline at [phone].

[klearn10]

Why didn''t they use an remote controlled robotic device to move the object to a place, then blow it up from a safe distance? I just don''t understand why they took such risks.

[octavianfdlr]

Pull out of Iraq because of the IDEs? Sounds like we need to pull out of Oregon!

[expat68]

If the financial crisis doesn''t end, I could see more of this happening. Too many people are losing too much, and many of them feel that they''ve been fleeced by their banks. America is in DEEP trouble.

[toyguy516]

I/we are so sorry for the loss of these officers lives. Also want to say that some of the earlier post are hurt-full and uncalled for, these are real lives that have been lost and we should be showing our respect and support to their family''s.

[tincup356]

hetup , you are about the most ignorant person ever.

[tincup356]

to dronemark, to blame peace loving hippies is stupid ,,,,try blaming it on someone else,you must be brainwashed by our government and think Nixon is still in office.

[ludvig1-2009]

As an engineer though without any exposives training, it would seem taking a bomb inside would make the bomb more hazardous as the explosive force would be confined, rather than released, unless maybe they were afraid of passerbys being exposed to shrapnel. Seems like they should have just evacuated the area and left the bomb outside.

[tfcrow]

Why would you bring a bomb inside a bank?Was it making a deposut?

[jpwalsh123]

They should not have touched the bomb but who would expect a bomb in a quiet place like Woodburn Oregon

[dronemonk]

Prolly a hippie, unhappy with the banks'' bailout/theft by swindle ways. I don''t approve, but I understand.

[bjcone8559]

Another example of ''no terrorist attacks in the US since 9/11''.

Oh... that''s right, we''re not going to call it a terrorist act.

I remember now, Bush is keeping us safe. I forgot for a minute.

[jydavis1]

Mossad ?

[clathrate]

Condolences to the officers'' families, but I cannot understand why they would try to move or handle the bomb. SOP is to put it under sandbags or in a "bomb proof pot" and detonate it with a booster charge.

[canaduh3]

we should ban bombs, there is no useful sporting purpose for bombs. If we pass a law that makes it illegal to use bombs, have bombs, make bombs, and of course make it illegal to kill people, then we would be safe. We all know that criminals obey laws, thats why they are called criminals.

[lloydbest1]

"If you''''ve read much history - especially European history -you probably suspect, as I do, that the real purpose of the 20,000 troops is to have a military force to prevent the breakup of the United States of America......" Posted by Hackerpc at 12:00 PM : Dec 13, 2008

Hacker, 20000 troops wouldn''t prevent the breakup of Portland, let alone Oregon; even less alone the United States

[wlmrtpatriot]

Gary1615: Smart question. The bomb was outside in the bushes "until authorities decided to move the device inside the bank"? What reasoning was there behind this?

[garyl615]

Why did they put it in the bank?

[irmcvet971]

Posted by Hackerpc at 08:32 AM : Dec 13, 2008

ROFLMAO Fascist are so funny... Not at all intelligent but VERY funny. Chances are this is just the beginning of some very bad situations resulting from the Economic Melt Down and the TOTAL Failure of the Policies of the past 8 years.

[ofbyfor3]

My condolences to the families of the dead and injured officers.

My guess is that this was placed by someone who had lost their home to foreclosure by the bank. Sad to see it becoming this extreme, but this may only be the beginning.

Very sad all around. Never thought I''d see my country come to this.

[gwinginit]

There is no one answer to keeping terrorism out of the USA, It is a multi faceted problem, eliminating the terrorist based govenrment of IRAQ was an answer. We won''t know how many could have come in from that area. Another approach would be to get rid of all of the corrupt politicians currently in office, replacing them with bipartisan leaders who have some idea of what morality is. The problem with that is finding some that are willing to serve and put up with the media and public scrutiny. Sad state of affairs. Our prayer are offered to the police officer and those injured and their family.