The Eugene Police Department has made national headlines over the past few weeks after the fatal shooting of an armed man who was a member of a self-defense group critical of police. On Monday afternoon, the Eugene Police Department was forced to call in the bomb squad after finding explosives outside the department. Now, they’re working with the feds to try to track down the culprits.
“Police in Eugene are searching for answers after explosives were found outside their headquarters on Country Club Road late Monday afternoon,” ABC News affiliate KEZI reported Tuesday.
The explosives were discovered while a grounds crew was mowing the front lawn, police say. In response, the department called in the Eugene Metro Explosive Disposal Unit to defuse the explosives, which are now being examined by the forensics team.
“This is not a hoax device. This is a very serious matter,” said Lt. David Natt, KEZI reports. “Our hope is that we get some physical evidence off it and that physical evidence leads us to somebody involved in the production and/or deployment of these devices.”
The department has contacted federal authorities to help in the investigation and are gathering and reviewing video footage that might lead to suspects.
“We’re going to ask our neighbors for any footage, and we’re going to review all the footage that we have,” the lieutenant explained.
As of Tuesday, police said they were unsure who had planted the bombs or if the culprits were specifically targeting anyone.
The alarming discovery comes a few days after the acquittal of the two Eugene officers involved in the fatal shooting of a man who illegally carried his weapon on a middle school campus and fired on officers after refusing to leave. The proximity of the two incidents has prompted speculation that they might be connected, though police have offered no such evidence and have not named any suspects.
“Charles Landeros refused to leave Cascade Middle School when asked to do so by school resource officers Steve Timm and Aaron Johns on Jan. 11, according to district attorney Patty Perlow,” the Oregonian reported Thursday. “Landeros struggled with them when they tried to arrest him and fired two shots at one of the officers, who then fired back and killed Landeros, the district attorney said.”
In its report on the shooting, the University of Oregon’s Daily Emerald describes Landeros as a U.S. Army veteran and former UO student protest leader, who was “a member of Community Armed Self Defense, a group that was created as a ‘new liberatory and inclusive space for all oppressed peoples to learn about armed self-defense.'”
Last Friday, Police released bodycam footage of the fatal encounter showing that Landeros did indeed draw his weapon and fire, prompting the officers to use fatal force.