NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
February 21, 2009
Contact: Michele Nicholson
Public Information Officer
(850) 651-7420
DEVICE FOUND IN DESTIN NOT A PIPE BOMB
Portions of Destin Commons were cordoned off
late Friday night after two security guards there spotted what appeared to be a
pipe bomb leaning on a wall of the Panera Bread restaurant. Deputies with the
Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office responded around 9:10 p.m. and saw an
approximately 18" pipe with electrical tape over both ends and a wire extending
from one end.
The area
was closed off and the Bay County Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad was called to the
site. The team was able to determine that the device was non-explosive and the
scene was cleared around 1:30 a.m.
Investigators were able to track down witnesses who report a transient had been
spotted in that area earlier in the evening, playing an electric guitar with an
amplifier. They suspect the device is a homemade power source. They say there is
no evidence at this time of any criminal intent.