Police recover pipe bomb in North End
By Marcus Clem
Local authorities found a small pipe bomb in the North End of St. Joseph earlier on Wednesday, and determined it did not pose a serious threat to the public, before calling for outside help to make sure.
The Kansas City (Missouri) Police Department responded to the 500 Block of Shady Avenue, in the immediate area of St. Joseph Avenue and Lafayette High School, providing the services of the KCPD Explosive and Arson Squad. St. Joseph police do not have a dedicated bomb disposal unit. Sgt. Brett Kelley of the St. Joseph police said the scene was not cause for alarm.
“It looks like it would have to have had an ignition source,” Kelley said. “And, as long as it’s not lit on fire, or ignited, it’s probably safe at this time. But that’s why we call (Kansas City’s squad) because they’re trained in this stuff. And, like I said, they’ll come retrieve it, and dismantle it, and let us know what was in it.”
According to Kelley, a man local to the area was asked by another person at the house where the pipe bomb was found if he would like to ignite the bomb, which the man regarded as a sort of homemade firecracker. The man refused to ignite the bomb, and after the other person left, he called police.
Nobody suffered any kind of physical harm as a result of the incident. Traffic along Shady Avenue was blocked by police cars in both directions for about three hours as the KCPD bomb disposal technicians did their work. The investigation remained ongoing, with no word of any arrests made, as of Wednesday evening.
