NT police investigating after ‘catastrophic’ pipe bomb found at Palmerston
NT Police have released more details and pictures of a home made bomb found in grasslands in Palmerston. READ THE LATEST HERE
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UPDATE 1.30PM, TUES: A GARDENER mowing through a Palmerston park was seconds from disaster when they noticed an improvised explosive device in the grass.
NT Police have warned of the “catastrophic” repercussions if a 15cm pipe bomb found in grasslands at Davoren Circuit, Moulden had gone off without the bomb squad’s intervention.
“A pipe bomb by it’s nature can only achieve three different things — that is either kill or maim or destroy,“ Superintendent Shaun Gill said.
“The fragmentation of these things can be catastrophic.”
Supt Gill said the alarm was raised at 1.30pm, Monday, with police and fire crews working to cordon off the area.
He said then, the Territory Response Group and bomb squad moved in.
“The nature of the pipe bomb was such that they could not move it. They couldn’t do anything,” he said.
Supt. Gill said specialists used a “render safe procedure”, where they attached a secondary explosive charge onto the bomb.
“The result of that charge actually renders the pipeline itself ineffective,” he said.
Supt Gill said bystanders would have heard a small explosion, similar to a gunshot sound.
After taking out the explosive, officers searched the surrounding area to confirm there were no other threats and to uncover any clues.
“We’re doing investigations into the circumstances and how it was placed, and the intent and so on. Those matters are still ongoing,” Supt. Gill said.
Supt Gill said the device was not left near any homes, but the parklands were regularly used by families and children.
“The fact that they’ve left it in a park is an incredible risk to the public,” he said.
“The thought of somebody else accidentally picking this up — the thought of a child picking this up — is catastrophic to think about to be blunt.”
Supt. Gill said the unknown bomb manufacturer was not only putting their community at risk, but also putting their own life on the line.
“The nature of pipe bombs is that they’re relatively easy to make,” he said.
“(But) anybody playing with this is not playing with a firecracker.
“There’s plenty of cases across the world where people have played with these things, and died as a result of just by the fact that they’re putting them together.
“They should not be played with, they should not be experimented with, they are incredibly dangerous.”
Supt Gill said he would not speculate on the intent behind the Moulden explosive device, but said generally pipe-bomb makers fell into a two camps.
“There’s various reasons, you can have criminal intent where people are building these things to test them to see how they operate,” he said.
“(And) there can be people who have seen these things on the internet … and they want to test it”
Supt Gill said these incidents were “rare” but extremely concerning and police would be investigating all aspects of the case.
He called on anyone with information about the origins of the bomb to contact police on Police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
INITIAL 8.30AM, TUES: POLICE defused an “incredibly dangerous” home made bomb discovered in grasslands at Palmerston.
NT Police confirmed they were investigating after a pipe bomb was found at Davoren Circuit, Moulden, at 1.30pm Monday.
Emergency Services were alerted to the suspicious item, with Police and Fire and Rescue cordoning off the area.
Superintendent Shaun Gill said the Territory Response Group attended and confirmed the item was a pipe bomb.
He said the bomb was rendered safe by a bomb technician and removed from the scene.
“It’s concerning that someone has made such a device, these devices are incredibly dangerous and by the nature of their construction can cause serious harm and destruction,” Supt. Gill said.
He called on anyone with information about the origins of the bomb to contact police on Police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
More to come.
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