View Full Version : Box left at woman's door explodes
Apparently, a rudimentary IED. Something to be aware of if one sees a shoe box on one's doorstep, I suppose.
LINK (http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7546937)
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Local and federal investigators were at a northwest Houston home Friday night where an explosion sent a woman to the hospital.
The woman was opening a package left at her doorstep in the 2100 block of Seamist Court Friday evening. She had found the shoe-sized box in front of her home about a day ago but didn't decide to open it until around 6:30pm Friday.
The woman, who officials said is in her 60s, took the box to the backyard and opened it on the patio. That's when it exploded.
"Don't know where it came from -- postal service or whether it was dropped off. I don't have that information yet," said HPD Lt. Colin Weatherly."The person went outside, basically opened the packaged; it detonated."
Residents told Eyewitness News that when the bomb went off, it sounded like a transformer blew.
The woman was transported to Northwest Memorial Hospital with facial injuries that are not life-threatening.
Officials with the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, as well as the Houston Police Department's homicide and bomb squad were at the scene investigating.
It wasn't immediately clear whether the house was targeted, however, Eyewitness News found out the home is owned by an oil company executive.
Green Light
07-10-2010, 16:11
Somebody's idea of a sick joke? Incredible.
Team Sergeant
07-11-2010, 07:57
Apparently, a rudimentary IED. Something to be aware of if one sees a shoe box on one's doorstep, I suppose.
LINK (http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7546937)
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Local and federal investigators were at a northwest Houston home Friday night where an explosion sent a woman to the hospital.
The woman was opening a package left at her doorstep in the 2100 block of Seamist Court Friday evening. She had found the shoe-sized box in front of her home about a day ago but didn't decide to open it until around 6:30pm Friday.
The woman, who officials said is in her 60s, took the box to the backyard and opened it on the patio. That's when it exploded.
"Don't know where it came from -- postal service or whether it was dropped off. I don't have that information yet," said HPD Lt. Colin Weatherly."The person went outside, basically opened the packaged; it detonated."
Residents told Eyewitness News that when the bomb went off, it sounded like a transformer blew.
The woman was transported to Northwest Memorial Hospital with facial injuries that are not life-threatening.
Officials with the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, as well as the Houston Police Department's homicide and bomb squad were at the scene investigating.
It wasn't immediately clear whether the house was targeted, however, Eyewitness News found out the home is owned by an oil company executive.
"an oil company executive" that would not be a BP oil company executive would it?
Kill one scare 10,000.
If the ATF and FBI are on the case should only take about 22 years and a manifesto to solve.
TS
Ret10Echo
07-11-2010, 08:09
If the ATF and FBI are on the case should only take about 22 years and a manifesto to solve.
TS
Hey, we're busy suing States and infringing upon the average American citizen to waste our time on "alleged" criminals...
Signed: Your friendly Fed LEA....
Utah Bob
07-11-2010, 09:11
Somebody's idea of a sick joke? Incredible.
There are some Very pissed off people out there right now. Very pissed off.
Sounds like a serious effort by someone who knew what they were doing.
LINK (http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7547662)
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Neighbors in a northwest Houston neighborhood are scared after a bomb was sent to a woman at her home and exploded.
Neighbors say the explosive was disguised as a box of chocolates. Eyewitness News first reported the incident Friday night.
Investigators say the woman received the package at her home off Seamist a couple weeks ago and opened it last night, which is when it exploded.
Police are still not releasing the woman's name, but she is in her 60s. A family member told Eyewitness News she had surgery on Saturday, but is stable. Meanwhile, her neighbors, who are understandably shaken, are praying for her recovery.
"Just heard a really, really loud boom," neighbor Courtney Turpin said.
Turpin lives two doors down from where the pipe bomb exploded in her neighbor's hands.
"It sounded like it was just outside of our walls," she said.
Around 6:30pm Friday night, a woman opened a package she'd received at her northwest Houston home weeks ago. The lady's friends say her face was instantly pelted with nails and tacks. Shrapnel blew so high, it landed on her rooftop.
"Our neighbor came out, and had blood on her, and she was walking out with her husband," Turpin said.
Neighbors who saw the package but didn't want to appear on camera describe it as a box of chocolates that left inside a gift bag. One neighbor says there was a card attached that simply said, "Thank you." It included the woman's name, but it was misspelled.
"I can't believe that anybody would do anything as terrible and tragic to a person like this lady," neighbor Karen Gennity said.
Neighbors say the woman often performed random acts of kindness for her neighbors -- perhaps one reason she thought this box of chocolates was a thank you in return.
Now, as everyone is waiting to hear who did this and why, skepticism blossoms in a neighborhood where it once never existed.
"We've already instructed our children: Don't open anything that until we're home. And if it doesn't look like it's something normal, put it to the side," Gennity said.
"Before, I never would have thought anything about it," Turpin said. "Now, I think we'll be a little bit more cautious."
Sources say the power of the blast destroyed the couple's sturdy patio furniture. They say this was no "kid's bomb."It apparently included batteries and wires and was quite professional-looking.
Because this is considered an attempted murder, HPD homicide detectives are investigating. Officials with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also are probing the incident.