Bomb Kills 1 in Santa Ana Arab Office

An explosive device rigged to the front door of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee offices in Santa Ana shattered a large portion of a three-story office building this morning, killing one man and injuring seven other people.

Officials said Alex A. Odeh, regional director of the group, apparently triggered the blast when he opened the door to the offices about 9:11 a.m. The explosion blew out at least a dozen windows in the building at 1905 E. 17th St., showering the street with glass, concrete and other debris.

Odeh was rushed to Western Medical Center about a block from the building, where he died about two hours later after undergoing surgery for severe injuries to his lower body, a hospital spokesman said.

The seven other victims, all bystanders, received minor injuries, hospital officials said. They were identified as Mary Molina del Carmen, Earl Beeghley, Johannah Phillips, Diane Krapp, Laura Sickles, Bonnie Bingham and Joyce Lawrence.

Had Feared Terrorism

Federal and local officials said no one has assumed responsibility for the bombing. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad is investigating the incident along with the FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Odeh’s friends and business associates said the man had feared that he and his organization would be the target of terrorist activities.

After the blast, bomb squad officers clad in protective armor entered the office and found a box they feared was another explosive device. It proved to be harmless.

Linda Bullard, 34, of Irvine, who was attending a court-reporting class across the street from the building where the blast occurred, said: “I heard the explosion and I ran to the window, and there was just glass strewn across the street. I saw this man and a woman who were either standing in front of the building or had been sitting on the bench in front of it. They were trying to get away from the area. The woman looked like she was either very shook up or injured.”

‘Shock and Outrage’

James G. Abourezk, national chairman of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, expressed “shock and outrage and anger at innocent people being destroyed like that.”

Abourezk, a former U.S. senator from South Dakota who is of Lebanese descent, said he thinks that the bombing may be connected with the recent hijacking of an Italian cruise ship in the Mediterranean.

Abourezk said the 5-year-old committee is “a service organization to people of Arab descent. We have more than 13,000 members nationwide organized into about 70 chapters. We provide whatever services we can to our membership, combatting stereotyping in the media, helping with discrimination cases of any type, issuing political papers, positions.”

Abourezk offered few details about Odeh but said the Santa Ana regional director was an American and had “three babies and a wife. We’re trying to find his wife.”