FBI investigating explosion outside Colo. NAACP branch

Trevor Hughes | USA TODAY

COLORADO SPRINGS — The FBI is investigating a small explosion Tuesday outside a building housing NAACP offices in the state's second-largest city.

No one was hurt in the explosion, and the FBI said agents were investigating whether the NAACP offices were specifically targeted. The building also houses Mr G'S Hair Design Studios, and the explosion happened closer to the salon's end of the building, witnesses said.

The FBI said an improvised explosive device was placed next to a gasoline can and detonated, but the gas didn't ignite and the explosion caused only "minimal" damage. Tuesday evening, the FBI was searching for a possible suspect, described as a white, balding man about 40 years old, driving a newer model white but dirty pickup with a dark bed liner.

"The investigation is ongoing and it is not known at this time if the NAACP or a business in the vicinity was the intended target," FBI spokeswoman Amy Sanders said in a statement. "There are no known injuries at this time and minor damage to the building and sidewalk where the explosion occurred."

Colorado Springs is home to multiple military bases, including Fort Carson and Peterson Air Force Base, along with the U.S. Olympic Committee and USOC Training Center.

Colorado Springs police referred all questions to the FBI.

Chapter president Henry Allen Jr. told the Colorado Springs Gazette that two volunteers in the NAACP office around 10:45 a.m. MST heard a loud "boom" that was strong enough to knock items off the walls. Allen told the paper that the volunteers looked outside to see what had happened, and saw what they described as a gas can rigged with some kind of incendiary device.

The explosion unsettled staff at the office, said Carol Chippey-Rhanes, a retired Air Force master sergeant and Allen's assistant. Chippey-Rhanes, a volunteer, said she arrived at the office shortly after the explosion.

"We don't know what it was, don't know if it was directed at us. Of course, I doubt anyone was targeting Mr. G's hair studio," she said.

Chippey-Rhanes said Colorado Springs is a safe and peaceful city, with a close-knit community of retired and active military. She said seeing the number of police officers and FBI agents investigating the incident gave her hope.

"I'm just happy about the police presence," she said.

In a statement, the Baltimore-based national office of NAACP said it looked forward to a "full and thorough" investigation.