THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 20, 1997 TAG: 9701200060
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: TULSA, OKLA. LENGTH: 46 lines
An abortion clinic that was firebombed on New Year's Day was struck by two bombs Sunday that caused minor damage. No injuries were reported.
The Reproductive Services clinic was closed at the time of the afternoon blasts, said police Sgt. Wayne Allen. Technicians and bomb-sniffing dogs searched the single-story building and found no more explosives.
The blasts went off at the back of the clinic and caused only minor damage to the building, except for heavy damage to glass panels.
Police did not know what kind of explosives caused the blast or whether the bombs exploded on the outside or inside of the building, which Allen said ``had been rendered safe both inside and out.''
Police had no suspects and no one has claimed responsibility, Allen said. He said it was too early to speculate if the bomber was the same person who firebombed the clinic Jan. 1.
The FBI will take over the investigation today because of last week's bombings at an Atlanta clinic and Wednesday's anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion, Allen said.
Tulsa police Officer Michelle Markey heard - and felt - the blasts from her patrol car across the street. She called it in on her radio, then rushed to the building but saw nobody fleeing.
A woman who said she was a 14-year employee learned of the blast from TV reports and went to the clinic. The woman, who gave her name only as Terry, said she was outraged.
``Certain groups would consider this a victory, but what it is is an outright attack on women's rights,'' she said.
The clinic employs about 15 to 20 people who provide family planning, abortions and adoption services, she said.
On New Year's Day, two firebombs thrown at the clinic caused minor smoke and fire damage. No one was inside the building, which was closed for the holiday.
On Thursday, two bomb blasts an hour apart rocked a building housing an Atlanta abortion clinic, injuring six people who had rushed to the scene of the first explosion, including federal agents, rescue workers and a TV cameraman.
The explosions left the Atlanta Northside Family Planning Services clinic in ruins.
KEYWORDS: ABORTION CLINIC BOMB