An explosion outside an NAACP office building in Colorado on Tuesday morning rattled neighbors, and officials are trying to determine whether the explosion was caused deliberately.
Amy Sanders, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Denver, said there was an explosion in “the vicinity” of the NAACP building on South El Paso Street in Colorado Springs around 10:45 a.m. local time. No one was injured, Sanders said.
The explosion occurred outside of the NAACP headquarters and another business, though Sanders said it was unclear if either building had been targeted.
The building and sidewalk suffered minor damage in the explosion, Sanders said.
A law enforcement official also said the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force now has jurisdiction over the case, and investigators are reviewing the possibility that the explosion was caused intentionally.
The official requested anonymity, citing the ongoing investigation. Sanders declined to comment further.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is also investigating the case, according to Christopher Amon, acting spokesman for the agency’s Denver office.
Amon declined to comment on the cause of the explosion, or say whether an incendiary device was used.
It’s not clear if anyone was inside the NAACP office when the explosion occurred, but Gene Southerland, whose barber shop is in the same single-story building as the NAACP, said he heard the explosion Tuesday morning.
“I made sure my three customers were OK, then walked outside,” Southerland said. “On the northeast side of the building I saw a red gas can on the ground. Neighbors started walking out of their houses asking me ‘What happened, what happened?’”
No damage to the building was visible, Southerland said.
“It’s messed up, man. It’s horrible,” Southerland said. “In broad daylight? Just goes to show there’s always a threat.”
An email to the NAACP seeking comment was not immediately returned.
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