PALMDALE – A team of law enforcement officers descended on a Palmdale neighborhood Monday morning to search for pipe bombs believed to have been discarded Sunday by fleeing suspects, sources said.
The search began at daylight and continued until around 9 a.m., according to residents in the neighborhood near Barrel Springs Road and Camares Drive in Palmdale.
Calls to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau regarding the search were referred to the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station; and local officials are not releasing much information.
The incident began around 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2 in the area of Barrel Springs Road and Tierra Subida Avenue, according to Sgt. Tucker of the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station.
“There was a call yesterday (Nov. 2) of three men with rifles. Deputies responded, but the rifles were pellet rifles,” Tucker said. “There was an arrest related to that call, but right now there’s no information going out on it.”
Tucker said no additional information was being released at this time.
A sheriff’s helicopter circled the area Sunday evening and about 10 patrol cars could be seen on Barrel Springs Road, near Tovey Avenue, according to a resident in that area.
Another resident said he spoke to officers at the scene who said they had responded to a call about pipe bombs being detonated in the area. The sheriff’s helicopter helped to locate three people trying to leave the area in a vehicle; and a search of that vehicle turned up marijuana, rifles, and bomb making equipment, the resident said, citing information told to him by responding officers.
Deputies believed the suspects discarded pipe bombs while fleeing, so they secured the area overnight and picked up the search Monday morning, sources said. Several unmarked law enforcement vehicles, an armored truck and a special team of officers were in the neighborhood to assist with the search, according to residents.
Local officials wouldn’t say if they discovered any explosives.
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Editor’s note: We’ll have more on this story if more information becomes available.