THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 28, 1996 TAG: 9609280244
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 56 lines
An explosive device in the parking lot of a bowling alley on Military Highway detonated Friday morning after an employee swept up what he thought was trash.
The employee, identified by a co-worker as Danny Mausolf, was not injured in the blast. No one was hurt, authorities said.
The device went off just minutes after about 20 senior citizen league bowlers and employees entered Pinboy's bowling alley in the 6800 block of N. Military Highway.
No one has been arrested and police have no suspects, said Norfolk fire and paramedic spokesman Jack Goldhorn. Police do not know what kind of explosive it was or why it was at the bowling alley.
Goldhorn gave this account: Shortly after 9 a.m., Mausolf arrived and was sweeping trash from the parking lot with a broom and long-handled dust pan when he spotted a pile of white-foam packaging peanuts.
He then noticed a package about eight inches long and two inches thick under the peanuts. As he swept the package into the pan, it went off in a burst of sparks and smoke. He dropped it and ran inside the bowling alley.
Betty Scearce, the day shift manager, was making telephone calls when Mausolf ran in. ``He was white-faced,'' Scearce said. ``He didn't know what happened. He was real upset but he was OK.''
Mausolf declined to comment. Scearce called 911 at 9:24 a.m. Police and fire personnel arrived a few minutes later. Goldhorn said the state police bomb disposal unit arrived and detonated the remains of the explosive in the dust pan to render it safe.
``It was a sophisticated device,'' Goldhorn said. ``There was someone who knew what they were doing.''
Investigators late Friday were still determining exactly what the object was. Goldhorn did not know what materials were used in the device or how much potential it had to cause harm.
Scearce said Mausolf became suspicious when he noticed how heavy the object was. When the bowlers and other employees found out what had happened, they were stunned, Scearce said, but everyone remained calm.
Employees gave the bowlers free coffee and free bowling time while they waited for the investigation to clear. The parking lot was getting back to normal by noon.
``We kept them entertained and laughing,'' Scearce said.
Scearce said she has not heard of any threats. No cars were parked where the object was left. Part of Military Highway next to Pinboy's was shut down while state police detonated the object.
Goldhorn said there was enough of the explosive left for arson investigators to examine. Investigators hope to have answers about the explosion next week. ILLUSTRATION: Color map\VP
KEYWORDS: EXPLOSION BOMB by CNB