Dynamite Found in Library May Be Linked to ATM Explosion

Federal agents are tracing dynamite packed into a powerful bomb found at a Vallejo library, and police said Monday the device may be related to an explosion that rocked the city a few hours later.

The unarmed bomb, containing 30 sticks of dynamite and blasting caps, was found in a rucksack leaning against the wall of the John F. Kennedy library Saturday, Vallejo Police Capt. Al Lehman said.

The second device exploded about 12 hours later in front of a set of Wells Fargo automated teller machines a few miles away, he said. No one was injured and no money was taken.

“We think there may be a relationship between the two,” Lehman said.

Several teller machines were located a short distance from the library, Lehman said. Investigators speculate the ATMs were the intended target of the first bomb, but the attempt was aborted for some reason and the bomb abandoned.

Two children, ages 10 and 14, playing in an adjacent park Saturday afternoon found the first device and alerted police, Lehman said.

Police evacuated the library and the City Hall and post office buildings next door, as well as a restaurant at the nearby ferry terminal.

A Blue and Gold commuter ferry was forced into a holding pattern by the Coast Guard while authorities examined the bomb. The bomb was dismantled by a California Department of Forestry bomb disposal unit and is in the hands of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms experts, said ATF official Mike Morrissey.

Early Sunday, the second bomb went off next to a set of Wells Fargo ATM machines.

“There was a huge explosion that rocked the windows of the house,” said neighbor Lisa Rhead. “I wasn’t sure what was going on.”

Witnesses reported seeing two men jump over a fence after the bombing, but police said they have no suspects.