The Centralia Police Department said Saturday afternoon that two unidentified suspects exploded the 1st Security Bank ATM on South Tower Avenue this morning using an improvised explosive device and then fled in a late 1990s or early 2000s four-door Honda Accord.
One of the suspects is described as a white man, but no other identifying information was made public.
The Washington State Patrol Bomb Squad and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are assisting Centralia police in the investigation of the explosion at the bank, which is located at 604 S. Tower Avenue.
Police say the suspects took the contents of the ATM after the explosion, which occurred at about 6:40 a.m.. Centralia Amateur Radio Emergency Service volunteers responded to the scene to help the Centralia Police Department collect evidence that covered an area of approximately 10,000 square feet.
No injuries were reported.
This is an ongoing investigation and no other information is being released at this time, according to police. Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to call the Centralia Police Department at 360-330-7680 or Lewis County Communications at 360 740-1105.
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FBI, Bomb Squad Assisting Police After Apparent ATM Explosion in Centralia
By The Chronicle staff
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Washington State Patrol Bomb Squad are assisting police in Centralia after an apparent explosion destroyed an ATM Sunday morning at the 1st Security Bank on South Tower Avenue.
“So at about 6:45 this morning there were reports of an explosion in this area of town,” Detective Sgt. Dave Clary told The Chronicle. “The bank’s security notified that there was incident that happened here as well. Centralia Patrol officers came down here and noticed an obviously destroyed ATM, destroyed more than just if someone had hooked a chain to it and tried to pull it out which is fairly common, so they suspected some sort of explosive was used to cause that kind of damage.”
The state patrol’s bomb squad was called in to make sure there were no secondary explosive devices, which is not believed to be the case, Clary said.
“We also have assistance from the FBI and their task forces,” he said. “Any time any kind of explosive device or explosion happens you always get the ATF and FBI involved. We’ll be collecting evidence here and moving forward with the investigation. Just this particular area is going to be cornered off while we’re here. If they see yellow police tape, they are not to go beyond that, but we don’t anticipate any danger to the public at this time. This was obviously targeted towards an ATM and targeted towards money.”
This story will be updated as more details become available.
