The Colorado Springs, Colo., chapter of the NAACP was the target of a bombing Tuesday, and while no members of the organization were injured in the explosion, the chapter is adamant that its work must continue.Â
"We believe in civil rights for all, and really we won't work in fear and we won't be deterred," Henry Allen Jr., president of the chapter, told the Colorado Springs Gazette. "We'll move on. … This won't deter us from doing the job we want to do in the community."
According to FBI officials who spoke with the newspaper, a gas can connected to a device "was detonated against the wall of the building shortly before 11 a.m." The gas can, however, did not ignite after the explosion, which "charred the exterior wall of the building."
FBI officials also noted that they are currently looking for a "balding white man in his 40s who may be driving a dirty 2000 or older model white pickup truck with paneling, an open tailgate and a missing or covered license plate," according to the Gazette. The FBI has not called the man a suspect, but he was described as a "person of interest" as someone near the scene around the time of the explosion.
Volunteers who were inside the building when the device detonated told the newspaper that they heard a loud noise and then items fell off the shelves.
"I'm thankful that none of the volunteers or employees of the Colorado Springs NAACP were injured in today's apparent bombing," U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn wrote in an email to the Gazette. "I hope that the FBI investigation is able to swiftly apprehend the people responsible for this act of violence and intimidation."
Read more at the Colorado Springs Gazette.