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FBI awaits test on bomb found along MLK Day parade route in Washington

By the CNN Wire Staff
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Bomb found on MLK parade route
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • The FBI expects the investigation to be "lengthy"
  • It is calling it "an act of domestic terrorism"
  • Three parade workers find the bag on a street corner before the event
  • 2,000 people participated in the march, organizer says
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Spokane, Washington (CNN) -- Authorities are awaiting tests on a bomb-carrying backpack and its contents found earlier this week along a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade route in Spokane, Washington.

FBI Special Agent Frank Harrill said Wednesday he expects the investigation to be "lengthy," adding that the agency is looking into the incident as "an act of domestic terrorism."

The gray backpack was found Monday on a bench at the northeast corner of North Washington Street and West Main Avenue in downtown Spokane, and prompted authorities to reroute the march.

There was no threat received before the device was found nor was a note found with the backpack, Harrill said.

"Clearly it's not coincidence that it's placed along the march route," he said. "But it's too early to ascribe a motive, whether it's racial or political or something else."

The FBI released photos of the Swiss Army-brand backpack and two T-shirts found in it. One shirt says "Treasure Island 2009" and the other reads "Stevens County Relay For Life June 25th-26th 2010."

The agency's lab in Quantico, Virginia, will also analyze the clothing and the explosive.

"We won't comment or try to rate the device," Harrill said, without providing details on the components or how it was constructed. "But preliminary analysis reveals this device had the potential to be pretty lethal."

The device was discovered Monday morning by three parade workers before the event, Harrill said.

"We have 2,000 people that participated in the march," organizer Ivan Bush said. "Right on the front lines are kids. One of our high school drum lines was leading the march. We had preschoolers holding banners with 'Happy birthday, Dr. King' on it."

Bush said he didn't want to envision what would have happened had the backpack not been found.

"Again, we are talking about folks' lives; we are talking about kids' lives," he said.

Agents have leads in the case, but Harrill would not provide details on the investigation, which includes a $20,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of those responsible.

The FBI is asking the public for information on who might have been with the backpack from about 8 a.m. to 9:25 a.m. Monday. It also is asking for photos or videos taken in the area.

"The FBI came in and interviewed me yesterday to see if I had seen anything strange or suspicious (about) people coming in with backpacks, which they do in a store all the time," said Janet Hutchinson, who works in a shop close to where the bag was found. "But it had been a really quiet morning, so I had nothing to report to them."

CNN's Patrick Oppmann contributed to this report.

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