Explosion Update

At least one person is dead and still on the scene, while four were severely injured after an explosive device was detonated at a local downtown office.

The explosion was set off at 10 a.m. this morning at McCamy, Phillips, Tuggle and Fordham. Local officials are not confirming other media reports that a suspect is in custody, however, Whitfield county official told GPB there’s no need to worry about “a bomber on the loose.”

An employee at the US Post Office next store said the blast rattled the walls, ringing her ears for about fifteen minutes.

The explosion sparked a fire that was extinguished by the afternoon. Three victims were transferred to a Dalton hospital. Two have been released, the third has been admitted and is listed in stable condition. The fourth, told to GPB to be an attorney at the firm, has been flown to the Joseph M. Still burn center in Augusta.

Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms officials are searching the grounds for explosives, with the cooperation of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The agencies prevented Dalton fire crews from responding to the fire. Two bomb squad trucks, along with three fire engines, are still nearby the scene.

The explosion occurred near City Park Elementary in Dalton. The school was briefly on lockdown, before students were evacuated unharmed.

A Dalton city police spokesman says they have contacted a person of interest who was on the scene. There was a disturbance at the law firm. Someone in the firm called 911, and when police showed up at the scene a person in an SUV ran out of is car and behind the building. The explosion occurred immediately afterward.

GPB has learned law enforcement officers are executing a search warrant at a residence in Varnell, a small rural area just north of Dalton. A spokeswoman for the county would not confirm or deny whether the search warrant was part of the investigation.

Beaverdale Road and Prater Mill Road near Varnell is going to be closed for an unknown amount of time. GPB has learned the road closing is connected to the bombing investigation, although spokespeople won't officially confirm the connection.

Columbus: police investigating bomb found near police car

A Columbus resident discovered a bomb near a police patrol car at an apartment complex Saturday afternoon. The device did not detonate.

Lt. Randy Robertson, local Homeland Security office chief told reporters a Haz-Mat team used a robot on-site to safely disable what he termed a potentially lethal, shrapnel-filled munition.

"It's obvious that the person who built the device put some thought into hurting somebody if the device had went off," Robertson told the Ledger-Enquirer newspaper.

"Luckily - we hope it's because their skills weren't quite what they needed to be - the device did not go off," he told reporters.

Teen in bomb scare to be tried as adult

A 15-year-old boy accused of taking a bomb to a Jefferson school in April, will be tried as an adult. That decision was made by Piedmont Judicial Circuit Court Judge Kevin Guidry after listening to testimony in a closed hearing on Monday.

Jefferson's police chief testified that the boy made "an adult decision" in bringing a Mason jar with black powder and a detonation trigger to the Jackson County Comprehensive High School on April 11th. Authorities say the real bomb had enough power to kill or severely injure everyone in the school's main administrative office. The school was evacuated, although the bomb never went off. The boy faces multiple charges, including aggravated assault and making terrorist threats.

Bomb scare was for real

A homemade device that set off a bomb scare last month at a northeast Georgia high school was a real bomb, according to police. Jefferson police say a 15-year-old boy walked into Jackson County High’s main office with a Mason jar packed with black powder connected to a detonation trigger. They say the bomb had a blast radius of 30 feet. Thankfully, officers talked the boy into surrendering. He was charged as a juvenile with possession of a destructive device, aggravated assault and terrorists threats and acts, and a judge ordered a psychiatric evaluation.

Bomb scare culprits say sorry

Two men who caused a bomb scare in Boston while promoting a show for Atlanta-based Turner Broadcasting System, have apologized. Peter Berdovsky and Sean Stevens allegedly planted three dozen blinking boxes around Boston and Cambridge January 31st. The city shut down highways and bridges thinking they could be part of an attack. The boxes were actually a cartoon character from a late-night TBS cartoon. Berdovsky and Stevens will do community service to resolve criminal charges of placing a hoax device and disorderly conduct.