Sandy MaloneEugene, OR – Authorities are investigating “incendiary devices” that were found at the Eugene police headquarters building on Monday.
Eugene Police Lieutenant David Natt said there was more than one device, but refused to disclose to reporters at a press conference on Tuesday exactly how many were found.
Lt. Natt is the department’s acting captain of investigations, according to KVAL.
“I don’t know what kind of damage they could have done,” the lieutenant told reporters. “This is not a hoax device. These are very serious matters.”
A contract maintenance worker noticed the suspicious items shortly after 4 p.m. on Jan. 28, KVAL reported.
Police said the devices were located on the north end of the police headquarters property.
“In the course of doing their work out there, they located a couple of devices they reported to staff in the building. Our bomb unit folks who were on duty went out took custody of and they were determined to be incendiary devices,” Lt. Natt said.
The devices were rendered safe at the scene, KVAL reported.
“They are currently at our forensics lab for processing,” Lt. Natt told reporters.
“Our hope is we get some physical evidence off it, and that physical evidence leads us to potentially somebody involved in the production and/or deployment of these devices,” he said.
Lt. Natt refused to reveal many details about the “incendiary devices” and said the investigation had been going full throttle since Jan. 29.
“We kind of hang on to some of the details for the purposes of bettering the investigation,” he said. “When we are in a position to release more details about style, type, make, model, that kind of stuff as it pertains to what was found, we’re more than willing to do that. But we want to give our investigators the best start we can to get to the bottom of what this is all about.”
The lieutenant said he wasn’t aware of any similar incidents at or near the headquarters’ property located at 300 Country Club Road.
“We’re going to ask our neighbors for any footage, and we’re going to review any footage that we have,” Lt. Natt said.
The Eugene Police Department has reached out to the community for help via social media.
“I don’t have any motivation, we have no suspect information at this time, we’re just taking this set of circumstances very seriously,” Lt. Natt told reporters. “Cases like this can be difficult. Somebody out there knows something about it, and we’d like to hear from them.”
The alleged threat to the police department and its officers came just weeks after Eugene officers fatally shot an Antifa member at his child’s school.
Anti-police activist Charles Landeros, 30, tried to murder two Eugene school resource officers as he was being led out of a middle school during a child custody dispute on Jan. 11, The Register-Guard reported.
Landeros, who had enrolled his daughter at Cascade Middle School one week prior to the altercation, went to the school after he learned that his ex-wife had been there earlier to show administrators her divorce and child custody paperwork, KOIN reported.
She said that Landeros had enrolled their child at the school without her permission, so the school contacted him and asked him to come talk to them about the situation, NBC News reported.
School officials also told Eugene Police School Resource Officer Steve Timm that Landeros would be stopping by, and they asked for his assistance.
Because of the potential volatility of the custody dispute, Officer Timm contacted Eugene Police Officer Aaron Johns, and asked for him to come to the school to assist him.
Officer Johns is also a school resource officer, The Register-Guard reported.
Landeros arrived at the school at approximately 10:30 a.m., wearing a shirt that read, ‘SMASH THE PATRIARCHY AND CHILL,’ and engaged in a “respectful” conversation with Officer Timm, Lane County District Attorney Patricia Perlow said in a statement on Thursday, according to KOIN.
He ultimately left the office, but stayed in the foyer area just inside the doorway, and began to voice his disagreement with the situation, bodycam footage showed.
“The police do not have jurisdiction over here,” Landeros informed Officer Timm. “If the principal has not asked me to leave…”
Landeros’ daughter then happened to walk into the hallway by coincidence, Perlow said.
“Go! Go! Go!” Landeros yelled to her, as Officer Johns escorted him out the school doors.
Officer Timm advised him that he was under arrest, as Officer Johns pressed him against a wall.
“Let go of me!” Landeros screamed at them.
The irate man then pulled out a 9mm pistol as he and Officer Johns tumbled to the ground.
The suspect fired two rounds, at which time Officer Timm fired one, hitting Landeros in his temple, KOIN reported.
Landeros’ daughter witnessed the struggle, as well as her father’s death, Perlow said.
“Officer Timm recognized that the situation was dangerous and needed to be controlled,” the prosecutor told KOIN. “Both [officers] were in fear of their own death or the death of other bystanders or students in the area. Officer Johns said he knew that if he let go of Landeros’ hand in the struggle, they were going to be killed.”
Landeros’ loaded weapon contained an extended magazine, which allowed him to carry 21 rounds, including one in the chamber, The Register-Guard reported.
He had a second magazine on his belt, and was carrying a backpack that contained more ammunition of a different caliber, Perlow said.
“There is no clearer circumstance that the use of deadly force is justified than this,” Perlow said in her statement.
Lt. Natt told reporters that Eugene police have not yet found any evidence linking the incendiary devices to the officer-involved shooting of Landeros.