Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) along with Vermont State Police searched an apartment in Northfield Thursday morning after an explosion inside caused by a “homemade pipebomb,” police say.
According to a police press release, the Northfield Police Department got a report of an explosion at a residence on the corner of North Street and Maple Avenue in Northfield.
A state police news release Thursday afternoon said five people were inside the apartment when the explosion occurred Wednesday and four were injured. Police have so far refused to release details about the nature of the injuries or the names of those involved.
The release said the explosion was the result of a "homemade pipebomb." State police spokesman Scott Waterman said Thursday morning that he was not comfrotable calling the device a "bomb," and referred to it as a "homemade explosive device."
Waterman said Tursday morning that any information about the intended use for the explosive device “is all part of the ongoing investigation,” and that the state police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, based in Williston, is looking into the case.
“Currently, at this moment, federal agents and our [Vermont State Police] bomb squad are going through the apartment,” Waterman said at about 11 a.m. Thursday.
He also sought to dispel online speculation that the residence was being used to manufacture Methamphetamine.
“This was not a meth lab,” he said. “That is for sure.”
Police say there is "no ongoing threat or danger to the community."
Update 1:09 p.m. This post was updated to reflect information in a press release from Vermont State Police Thursday afternoon. The information includes the federal agency involved (ATF), type of residence (apartment), number of people in the apartment at the time of the explosion (five), the number of injured individuals (four), the type of explosive ("homemade pipebomb").
