Suspicious device different from last month’s bombs

LACONIA — A suspicious device found downtown in the Bank of New Hampshire parking lot Wednesday afternoon was significantly different from two bombs that were found in separate incidents last month, said Laconia Police Chief Matt Canfield.

Discovery of the device led to the evacuation of 20 people from the bank and traffic detours that last for a few hours while the State Police Bomb Squad investigated.

A member of the squad donned a blast suit to look at the device, which consisted of a couple of large battery blocks wrapped in yellow tape and connected with blue wires.

A small robot vehicle picked it up. It was X-rayed. By all appearances it was a hoax device, Canfield said.

As a precaution, it was taken to an empty part of the parking lot and explosives were used to blow it apart. The concussion of the blast blew out a window of a car in the lot.

“No arrests were made,” Canfield said. “We are following up on a few weak leads. There was surveillance video but it didn’t show much.”

He said the incident, even if it was a hoax, is concerning.

“It caused public alarm,” he said. “It was very disruptive to the downtown area.”

On Sept. 30, a pipe bomb was discovered at Bartlett Beach and the bomb squad disassembled it. It was made from a large metal housing, similar to the barrel of a flashlight, with screw caps at each end, and a fuse protruding. The device was filled with black powder.

On Sept. 16, a chemical bomb was found in the parking lot at the Belknap County Courthouse. In a large container were a combination of substances which, if mixed, could have caused an explosion.

There have been no arrests in these cases and no injuries.