January 5, 2021, Washington, D.C. Pipe Bombs

Between 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on January 5, 2021, an unknown person placed two pipe bombs in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Washington, D.C. One was placed in an alley behind the Republican National Committee on 310 First St SE, and the other was placed on a park bench near the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee on 430 South Capitol St SE #3.

The individual wore a facemask, glasses, gloves, a backpack, a grey hoodie, and black and light grey Nike Air Max Speed Turd shoes with a yellow logo.

Components of the devices included 1x8 in threaded galvanized pipes, end caps, kitchen timers, wires, metal clips, and homemade black powder.

The FBI and ATF are offering a combined reward of up to $490,000 for information leading to the location, arrest, and conviction of the person or persons responsible. The Metropolitan Police Department is also offering a reward of up to $10,000. The total reward amount is now up to $500,000, but The Metropolitan Police Department has its own terms for the amount of money.

SOURCES:
FBI

August 2, 2015 Bombings in Las Cruces, New Mexico

Around 8:30 a.m. on August 2, 2015. a device at the Calvary Baptist Church in Las Cruces, New Mexico exploded. Another device at the Holy Cross Catholic Church would detonate. There were no injuries in either bombing and the resulting damage was minor. It's believed that the cases may be related.

There was a man recorded on a surveillance video. He was seen walking to and from the Calvary Baptist Church around the time of the bombing. He was wearing plaid shorts, a blue short-sleeved T-shirt, and hiking boots and was carrying a package or bag. He may be a person of interest and or someone who may have information.

SOURCES:
FBI

El Monte Church Bombing

At approximately 1 a.m. on January 23, 2021, a male and female were seen smashing a window of the First Works Baptist Church at 2600 Tyler Ave. in El Monte, California. The two then lit an object and threw it into the church. The object shortly after exploded and the two fled the scene to a vehicle that they arrived in. The witness would call the police. 

The male suspect is Hispanic between 5'8" and 6'1" and around 170 to 180 lbs. The female suspect is 5'3" to 5'5" and around 125 to 135 lbs. Both were wearing blue jeans, black hoodies, and face masks. 

SOURCES:

FBI

Home Made Explosive Devices Found in Gibsonville, North Carolina

 Since Jan. 22, 2021, at least 5 homemade explosive devices have been found along Wood St. in Gibsonville, North Carolina. Residents had also reported hearing explosions for the last several months. 

SOURCES:

FBI

The 2000 Department Store "Centrs" Bombing

 On August 17, 2000, two explosives were placed at the downtown shopping center Centrs in Riga, Latvia. At 5:19 p.m. in the lobby of the supermarket, a bomb went off,. It shattered the window and filled the ground floor with smoke. Police would arrive a few minutes later and started evacuating.  8 minutes later a second bomb would go off in the same lobby.

Dozens were injured from the blasts. Three had to be rushed to hospitals while 33 were treated at the scene. Only one woman lost her life in the bombings. The bombs were set off at the busiest time of the day for the supermarket. 

A Leonards Butelis was arrested for planting the second bomb, but was acquitted by the supreme court a year later. No one else has been charged for the bombing.

SOURCES:
Wikipedia
BBC
GTD

AP News

The Irish Times

The March 6, 2008 Bombing of the United States Armed Forces Recruiting Station

On the morning of March 6, 2008, a bomb would explode in front of the United States Armed Forces Recruiting Station on Times Square in New York City, New York. A lone suspect riding a blue Ross bicycle went west on 37th street, took a right heading north on Sixth Ave. and made a left heading west on 47th street and Seventh Ave. They would get off the bike near the Recruiting Station on 43rd and Seventh Street. They'd place the bomb in front of and lit the fuse before fleeing. The bike was later recovered in a dumpster near Madison Ave and 38th Street. 

The Device was built using ammunition can similar to those found on battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was filled halfway with black powder and detonated using a time fuse. No one was wounded, but if people were in close proximity it would have caused significant injury or death.

The suspect seemed to have been working alone, but that does not mean they didn't have help. They may have had a lookout or surveillance team of as many as 5 people in Times Square when the device was placed. The suspect was wearing a grey sweatshirt and pants of unknown color.

This bombing may be connected to two other unsolved bombings in New York City. One of them happening at the British Consulate in May of 2005 and other at the Mexican Consulate in October of 2007. The devices were delivered by an unknown individual on a bicycle and detonated between 3 am and 4 am. 

SOURCES:

FBI

Murder of Ernie Abbot

On 27 March 1984, at the Trades Hall in Wellington, New Zealand a suitcase was left unattended. When Ernie Abbott the Trade Hall's caretaker picked it up at 5:19 p.m. it exploded. The explosion instantly killed Ernie.

 It's believed that it contained three sticks of gelignite triggered by a mercury switch. It was also wrapped in papers from the June 18, 1977 edition of the Evening Post. It's possible that the bombing attack was anti-union. It also had a 60-minute stove timer inside, two bottles of accelerant with one being a popular teal brand soft drink bottle containing petrol and the other sealed with an Asti Riccadonna cork. The bomb was made professionally. 

The Federation of Labour stated that there was a Labour Party around the corner. The bomb was to coincide with the meeting. Newspapers did announce the meeting but did not announce it was to happen elsewhere. 

But in actuality, police don't know the motive for the bombing.

Police do have suspects, but everything is circumstantial. In a search of suspects home were safety fuses, detonators, a torch missing a battery, four teal soft drink bottles, and a copy of the same June 18, 1977 edition of the Evening Post without the relevant pages.  The suspect described himself as an explosion expert and had a violent past, a history of redundancies and was possibly anti-union. 

Images of Bomb/Reconstruction of Bomb

SOURCES:

New Zealand Police

Wikipedia

RNZ

Stuff Co

The Wall Street Bombing

At noon of September 16, 1920, the lunch rush was going through on Wall Street Manhattan, New York. a horse-drawn wagon was stopped across the street from the headquarters of the J.P. Morgan bank at 23 Wall Street. They made sure to park it on the busiest corner. It's believed that the driver left and blend into the crowd. Then that day changed the lives of everyone and their families in a matter of seconds. 

There was a large explosion.  Inside the wagon 100 lbs of dynamite with 500 lbs of head cast iron weights that were on a time set detonation. The weights tore through the air and the wagon and horse were demolished. Everyone nearby was affected by the bomb. It was so strong it caused a street car a block over derail and debris went as high as the 34th floor the Equitable building. 

There were 38 fatalities and around 300 people were injured. Many of them being workers on Wallstreet as messengers, stenographers, clerks, and brokers William H. Remick who was president of the New York Stock Exchange at the time. There was more than $2 Million ($25 Million today) worth of damages. 

Rescuers worked hard to help save as many as they could. One boy 17-year-old James Saul got a parked car and helped transport around 30 people to the hospital. 

It was believed that the terrorist attack was done by a small group of Italian Anarchists.  But it would never be known for sure of who had done the terrorist attack. 

SOURCES:
History

FBI

Britannica 

Wikipedia