NAACP bombing: FBI says explosion was 'caused deliberately'

DENVER, Colorado – The NAACP chapter office in Colorado was bombed Tuesday around 10:45 a.m., and investigators are still searching for the suspect. No one was injured in the incident, but authorities said that they are searching for a balding white male about 40 years old in connection with the incident, according to reports.

The explosion was caused by a small explosive device which was placed next to a can of gasoline on the side of the Colorado Springs building. Inside the building was Mr. G's Hair Design Studios and the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, one of the oldest civil rights organizations in the U.S.

"All of a sudden I heard this big boom," one witness told KDVR news. "There was smoke everywhere, the building on the side was burnt."

"He was a heavier white man with what looked like a (Carhartt jacket)," another onlooker, Julie Skufca, said, adding that he drove away calmly in a white truck.

Fortunately, the gas can the bomber placed next to the explosive device did not ignite. No one was hurt or injured in the explosion.

Though the FBI did not say that the NAACP chapter was definitely targeted, they did tell the Los Angeles Times that the attack was "caused deliberately." NAACP Chapter President Henry Allen Jr. said that the civil rights organization "will not be deterred" by violence.

"Apparently, we're doing something correct. Apparently, we have gotten someone's attention that we are working toward civil rights for all. That is making some people uncomfortable," he told KCNC news.

Despite the hashtag #NAACPBombing going viral on Twitter, the attack received little media coverage Tuesday. Some Colorado Springs locals revealed that they did not find out about the explosion from media outlets, but instead discovered that the attack occurred from social media feeds.

The FBI asks that anyone with information about the bombing call the Denver tip line at (303) 425-7787.