Bombings may be linked

By Eloise Aguilar
Advertiser Windward Bureau

KAILUA — In the aftermath of a bombing Monday night at a Kailua church, its minister and residents living in the area say they think the incident was random and unlikely to happen again.

Minister Eddy Sansing said he doubts that he or the church was a "target" of the attack and isn't worried about a repeat offense. He'd drawn his conclusion, Sansing said, after talking at length with the detective investigating the 9:07 p.m. bombing at Church of Christ on Maluniu Avenue.

"The (suspect) didn't make a bomb to hurt anything or tear anything up," he said. "In my opinion he's doing it for attention. He's purposely targeting places and times where there typically are no people. As far as being an attack on the church, I honestly don't believe so."

The Monday night explosion was the third bombing on O'ahu this month.

The first took place in the evening of March 11 at Ko'olau Golf Club in Kane'ohe, said police spokeswoman Michelle Yu. The golf course mailbox was destroyed.

The second occurred midafternoon March 19, in the stairwell of the parking garage at Harbor Village Apartments on River Street in Honolulu.

At the Kailua church, the bomb exploded outside the classroom building and destroyed an old bench, broke two louvers and dented the rain gutter.

Yu described the explosive device as an "improvised military grenade simulator."

Police are looking into the possibility that the three explosions this month may be linked, Yu said.

"The investigation is wide open," she said. "They've not said it was a series or looked like the same person is a suspect."

The bomb startled many residents in the quiet neighborhood and frightened others. The church grounds have never attracted late-night trouble, said neighbors who were questioned.

Bird Miller said she at first thought it must have been a gas stove or heater explosion, "a very large noise, very scary."

Just before the explosion, Sansing, who lives behind the church with his wife and three young children, decided to lock up the church property for the night. He would have passed next to the bomb on his way to secure the gate, but the bomb went off before he got close. He said he doubts he was in any danger.

"If the Lord wanted me hurt, I'd be hurt," he said.

Sansing, from San Antonio, Texas, has been a minister at the Church of Christ for 10 months.

He said the incident hasn't changed his positive outlook about Hawai'i.