Federal and local law enforcement are investigating an explosion near a building housing the Colorado Springs chapter of the NAACP on Tuesday that knocked items off the office walls but left no one injured.
Agents from the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives went to the scene after the blast to gather evidence and place makers.
At 4:15 p.m., the FBI's Denver office issued an update stating that officials were seeking a "potential person of interest" in the investigation, described as a Caucasian male, approximately 40 years of age, and balding.
"He may be driving a 2000 or older model dirty, white pick-up truck with paneling, a dark colored bed liner, open tailgate, and a missing or covered license plate," the statement said.
The explosion was heard near the building on the 600 block of South El Paso Street on the southern end of the city just before 11 a.m. Those nearby reported hearing a "loud boom."
"I was cutting somebody's hair and I heard the explosion," said Gene Southerland, the owner of Mr. G's Hair Design Studio in the same building. "It was such a loud explosion that some plastic containers fell off the shelf."
Henry Allen Jr., the NAACP chapter president,
told The Gazette the explosion was strong enough to knock items off the walls and that volunteers who looked outside to see what happened saw what they described as a gas can rigged with some kind of incendiary device, such as a flare.
"We'll move on," Allen told the newspaper. "This won't deter us from doing the job we want to do in the community."
Photos from the scene showed evidence markers littering the area surrounding the building, local police and their police bomb squad maneuvering around yellow tape.
"The investigation is ongoing and it is not known at this time if the NAACP or a business in the vicinity was the intended target," said Amy Sanders, an FBI special agent. "There are no known injuries at this time and minor damage to the building and sidewalk where the explosion occurred."
Streets around the area were shut down as the law enforcement inquiry continued.