Explosive Incident Brief: Oregon Prosecutor’s Office Hit by Homemade Bomb Blast

A homemade explosive device went off outside a prosecutor’s office in Medford, OR at 4:30am yesterday morning. The explosion blew out the windows of the office and caused damage to the outside of the building. The explosive incident caused no injuries, as the building was vacant at the time of the attack. A dented, 7-gallon propane tank was found on its side by the office; it had partially detonated, caught fire, emitted a large flame and then burned out. The device failed to fully detonate and a fuse meant to detonate the propane tank was destroyed in the explosion. Officials initially indicated there was something else attached to the propane tank that was supposed to blow up, but no further information on the device has been released.

Medford Police Chief, Tim George stated that he considered the attack an act of domestic terrorism because it targeted “a visible symbol of government and justice.” Authorities also noted that the device posed significant risk to responding firefighters and police officers. Police have not made any arrests or established any potential motive at this time. They are searching for a man dressed in dark clothing who ran from an officer in the vicinity of the explosion, but it is unknown whether he was involved.   

The MSA Research and Intelligence Analysis Group is continuing to follow this explosive incident and emerging details closely, and has provided the following implications.

• The perpetrator likely intended to destroy the building, but the damage was limited because the device did not detonate properly. 
   
• Government buildings have been increasingly targeted, most recently in the shooting at the Navy Yard building in Washington D.C. that left 13 people dead. This is the first bombing targeting a government agency in the area, and could potentially be tied to two previous incidents in the area involving explosives. Although the office regularly receives threats, the Medford Police stated that none stand out as concerning or potentially related to this attack at this time. 
   
• The time of the explosion, 4:30am, could indicate that the perpetrator did not intend to cause injury, but rather send a message by attacking the building for what it symbolizes. 
   
• The bomb also could have potentially been intended to target responding officers and firefighters instead, another trend that has been growing, since it was not properly constructed. 
   
• It is also possible that it was set to detonate on delay to harm the office employees, but went off prematurely.