Police look into Columbine tie to fire, bomb

April 22, 2011|Associated Press

Federal agent Doug Lambert and his bomb-sniffing dog at the Colorado mall… (Ed Andrieski/Associated…)

LITTLETON, Colo. — Authorities reviewed security video yesterday from a Colorado mall where the discovery of a pipe bomb and two propane tanks after a fire raised concerns about a possible link to the Columbine High School attack.

The blaze on Wednesday coincided with the 12th anniversary of the deadly shooting two miles away.

“We’re concerned about the date, the time, things of that nature, but we don’t have anything solid that would indicate any link at all other than, certainly, circumstances,’’ said Jefferson County Sheriff Ted Mink.

No arrests have been made, but dozens of law enforcement agents were following leads to identify a man seen entering the mall through a side door not normally used by the public.

The mall reopened yesterday.

Mink said the community should not feel threatened, hinting that progress was being made in the investigation.

“It isn’t a situation where we don’t have a good handle of the direction where we’re going,’’ he said, declining to elaborate.

The propane tanks were discovered in a hallway of the Southwest Plaza Mall food court after the fire was reported around 11:50 a.m.

The Columbine shootings started at 11:12 a.m. and ended 24 minutes later on April 20, 1999. Unexploded pipe bombs and a propane tank with explosives attached were found in the cafeteria after the shooting.

Through the years, students across the country have been accused of threats and incidents modeled after Columbine, where 12 students and one teacher were killed.

“The kind of crime like Columbine will motivate a certain segment of the population to attempt the same type of crime,’’ said Brian Rohrbough, whose son Daniel was killed at Columbine. “Whether they’re doing it because they’re purely evil or in addition to being evil, they just want attention, I don’t know.’’

Authorities also were investigating the cause of the fire, including whether it was sparked by the failed detonation of the bomb.