THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 18, 1994 TAG: 9407180050
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
Lynnhaven Mall opened as usual Sunday, the morning after bomb-disposal experts neutralized a device found late Saturday in a common area of the mall.
``If you had been in the vicinity of the device, it could have hurt you,'' said Chase Sargent, a Fire Department spokesman. ``It's not anything that would have leveled the mall or anything like that, but it had the capability to injure someone.''
It was the third time in four months that an explosive has been found in a Hampton Roads mall. Earlier this year, devices were found on two occasions in Hampton's Coliseum Mall. It was unclear if the events are related, however.
The first telephoned threat against Lynnhaven Mall came about 7 p.m. Saturday. A second call followed shortly thereafter, Sargent said.
Both calls were made to mall offices. But the time the device was supposed to explode changed between calls.
Authorities did not reveal what was said in the threats or what - if any - motive was offered.
Mall security officials, recalling the recent incidents at Coliseum Mall, decided to clear the area after the second call. About 3,000 customers and employees - including all patrons in 10 movie theaters - were evacuated. The mall was cleared in about 15 minutes.
A state police bomb squad was called in to assist local explosives experts, and the teams set up a detailed plan to search the hugemall section by section.
Initial searches found nothing, however. And the phoned-in deadlines passed without incident. Around 11 p.m., a few search teams were leaving as the effort wound down. That's when a state police team, using a bomb-sniffing dog, discovered the device while making a final sweep.
The device was ``rendered safe,'' Sargent said, but he would not say whether it was simply deactivated or deliberately exploded.
Additionally, authorities are revealing nothing about the nature of the device, its construction, its potential destructive capability or where it was hidden.
``We don't want to give out any details that might help the person who built it or that might give someone else ideas,'' Sargent said.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the FBI have been informed of the incident, Sargent said. It was unclear Sunday, however, if either agency would be involved in the investigation.
There have been no arrests.
On March 23, a small explosive device was found in the food court at Coliseum Mall. On June 17, another bomb was found in a planter in the mall's common area.
Parts of the device found Saturday will be sent to a state crime lab for study, Sargent said.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Crime Line at 427-0000.
KEYWORDS: BOMB EXPLOSIVE SHOPPING MALL LYNNHAVEN MALL by CNB