Dec. 23-- FALL RIVER, MA-- Police evacuated residents and blew up a homemade pipe bomb they found outside an apartment building at South Coast Landings on Thursday night.
And just after 4 p.m. p.m. on Friday, police and firefighters responded to a report of another suspicious package in the vestibule of the same building. Emergency personnel evacuated the building, but the incident appeared to be a false alarm as police and firefighters began to clear the scene at 5:15 p.m.
Two emergency situations in less than 24 hours rattled several residents of the apartment complex located on the 4000 block of North Main Street.
"I leave New Bedford and come here, and then this," said Kyle Stammler, who described both items as looking like white Styrofoam lunch coolers. He saw the item that exploded Thursday night in the parking lot, and figured someone had left their lunch behind.
"I'm glad I didn't touch it," he said.
There were no injuries in Thursday night's explosion, though one resident said a small piece of shrapnel-type material entered the building. Police said on Friday that they were trying to determine where the object came from.
"This is not believed to be a terrorist-related incident, but it is also not considered random either," Fall River police Lt. Gil Gosta said Friday.
At 8:12 p.m. Thursday, Fall River police and fire personnel responded to the apartment complex and set up a perimeter, Fall River police Lt. Daniel Dube said Friday.
"People were evacuated and the Massachusetts State Police were called out," Dube said.
The first responders located the suspicious package in the parking lot outside South Coast Landings' Building 4. Experts with the State Police Bomb Squad suspected the item was an explosive device.
Upon arrival, Costa said the officers confirmed the presence of a possible explosive device. The Massachusetts State Police bomb squad, the FBI and ATF all responded after Fall River police officers secured the area. The bomb squad inspected the package with the use of a robot, causing its detonation. Residents reported hearing a loud explosion.
Costa said there were no injuries reported.
Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio described the object as a homemade improvised explosive device, resembling a pipe bomb, stored inside a container. Procopio said the device exploded while the bomb squad robot was rendering it safe. The explosion caused property damage but no injuries.
Procopio said the device was located near a vehicle in the parking lot. He said the state police's homeland security division is assisting the Fall River Police Department in investigating the incident.
South Coast Landings distributed a notice to residents on Friday informing them about the incident and urging anyone with information to contact authorities. Residents who were interviewed on Friday described the apartment complex as a quiet peaceful neighborhood of professionals, young families and retirees.
"It's very scary. You just don't know nowadays," said Leslie Silveira, who lives in Building 1 but heard the detonation on Thursday night.
John O'Toole, a Building 4 resident, said police knocked on all the doors to evacuate his building. O'Toole said he and his neighbors walked across the complex and stayed in a community center until police cleared the scene around 2 or 3 a.m.
"I thought the police did a good job," O'Toole said, adding that he did not know more about the incident other than what had been disseminated by the police department.
However, Lacey Oliveira, a resident in a nearby building, criticized the apartment complex's management for not having what she felt was adequate security or maintenance workers. She said mail delivery drivers routinely leave packages unattended in the apartment buildings even though they are supposed to bring them to the main office.
Several residents said Friday night's scare happened after someone dropping off a package of pre-ordered steaks at Building 4 rang the doorbell, but was told by the resident that they had not ordered anything. When the resident went to check on the call, the driver was gone but the package was left behind in the building's vestibule.
A police officer with a search dog was seen entering the building on Friday night while police officers, firefighters and paramedics stood by in case they were needed. Just after 5:15 p.m., police and fire personnel began to leave the scene.
South Coast Landings is an apartment complex at 4980 N. Main St. It is north of the rotary at the industrial park, just south of the line with Freetown.
At this time there are no suspects and the incident remains under investigation by the aforementioned agencies.
Anyone with information related to this incident is encouraged to call the Fall River Police Department Major Crimes Division at 508-324-2796 or Detective Derek Beaulieu at 508-676-8511 ext. 256
Staff reporter Kevin O'Connor contributed to this report
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