Homemade Pipe Bomb Found In Busy Gilroy Lot Prompts Police Warning

GILROY (KPIX 5) -- The Gilroy Police Department is asking the public to be on the alert after a crude, homemade pipe bomb was discovered in the parking lot of an office building.

Investigators say the device was made from a plastic pipe and was wrapped in aluminum foil. According to police, it appears that someone had tried to light the fuse, but the device did not explode.

The building's owner Chris Vanni says an employee discovered the device in the parking lot around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday and called the police. The Gilroy Police Department brought in Santa Clara County's bomb squad to examine the device.

"They were a little skittish--I think they still are. They were very skittish yesterday with regard to how social media blew up," Vanni said, describing employees of the office complex.

The police department sent out an alert about the device in case others were discovered in the future.

Vanni says he's turned over security camera video from the complex to investigators. He also said police were checking with employees to see if anyone had made threats against any of the businesses in recent days.

"I'm a little ticked off that someone wanted to play a joke and dropped one of those crude little devices in the parking lot. The fact is it doesn't take much of an explosion to break windows or scare the neighbors," Vanni said.