Vehicle with explosives crashes into Portland athletic club
An individual crashed a vehicle containing multiple explosive and incendiary devices into an athletic club in Portland, Oregon, sparking a fire and leaving the driver dead inside the car, according to police and fire officials. Officials said the incident was isolated and not believed to be related to domestic terrorism.
The incident happened at 2:49 a.m. on Saturday at the Multnomah Athletic Club, a private athletic and social club near Providence Park in southwest Portland. Employees saw a vehicle slowly driving around the area before it crashed through a window and continued inside the building, Portland Police Bureau Commander James Crooker said in an afternoon briefing.
The vehicle was soon found engulfed in flames, and 911 was called. After firefighters brought the fire under control, responders found a dead person inside the vehicle.
Police, firefighters, the FBI, the ATF and Portland’s Metro Explosive Disposal Unit responded after evidence of explosive devices was found in the vehicle.
Officials said they initially treated the scene with heightened caution because the incident happened just hours after May Day and near Providence Park, which is expected to host FIFA World Cup events.
“We just wanted to make sure that this event wasn’t related to anything that could be considered domestic terrorism or anything of that nature,” Crooker said. “The community is safe right now. It’s an active investigation and it’s an active scene.”
Crooker said the damage inside the building was less severe than it could have been because several devices did not fully detonate.
“It looked like there was an intent to detonate more than actually ultimately detonated,” Crooker said. “The interior is not as damaged as it could have been. There is still a vehicle in there, there is some burn damage. I think there was an intent to detonate a number of explosive devices that just didn’t go off.”
Jim DeFrain, a supervisor with the Metro Explosive Disposal Unit, said investigators found multiple suspected incendiary devices and improvised explosive devices. Some had already gone off, while others were left in what he described as “different states.”
“We call it a low-order explosion, where maybe they started to go off but were not completely consumed,” DeFrain said.
Officials said propane tanks were also found inside the car, which had moved toward restaurant areas and gas lines inside the club. Crews were using robots and other remote methods to remove dangerous materials from the vehicle and surrounding area.
Portland Police Chief Bob Day said investigators had not yet identified the person found dead because of the risks that remained as crews cleared additional explosive devices.
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said the quick response by firefighters kept the incident from becoming far worse.
“They took a possible catastrophic event and we are here talking about a tragic event instead,” Wilson said. “Their quick action really kept this from being a very large incident that was going to affect a lot of people.”
No other casualties were reported. The investigation remains active while crews continue processing the scene.
The post Vehicle with explosives crashes into Portland athletic club appeared first on BNO News.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
