The FBI and Maui Police Department are urging the public to report any suspicious activity following an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion last week and the recovery of several additional explosives.
According to an FBI press release, the explosion occurred on August 8 on Old Haleakala Highway. The 7-inch by 4-inch cylindrical IED had been left in a trash can when it struck a passing car, sending the driver to the hospital.
“I saw a flash in the sky and thought lightning was going to strike,” said witness Jessica Weatherholt. He spoke to local station KITV. “I heard the loudest explosion I’ve ever heard in my life. It sounded like an attack. It sounded like someone was dropping a bomb.”
“The driver’s side window was shattered, the frame was bent,” she continued, describing the condition of the white SUV that was hit by the bomb. “The whole body of the vehicle was like holes and shrapnel.”
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The FBI in Hawaii said the IED recovered was cylindrical, measuring 7 inches by 4 inches, and shaped like a basket. (FBI)
According to authorities, the FBI and Maui Police Department (MPD) identified and removed multiple IEDs of various shapes and sizes from trash bins and secluded locations along the road between Kahului and Kula, and have made them safe.
“The FBI and MPD continue to encourage the public to report any suspicious behavior that may pose a threat to public safety, such as items left in public areas,” an FBI press release stated. “If you see anything suspicious or unidentifiable, especially near a roadway, do not touch, drive by, or approach it for any reason. If possible, keep others away from the area and call 911 immediately.”
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The FBI is working with Maui police to search for the person or persons who placed the IEDs at multiple locations across Hawaii. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
A forensic examination is underway to determine how the explosive device was set to detonate. The FBI said the IED may have resembled a small, makeshift basket.
Both the FBI and MPD are working to find the perpetrators, and investigators say the driver of the SUV involved in the explosion has been released from the hospital.
Aerial view of Kahului. Maui. Hawaii. USA. (Andre Thiele/VW PICS/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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“If we had left 10 or 15 minutes earlier to pick up our daughter from work, we could have been in the same place,” Weatherholt said of the victims in the white SUV. “We would have been in the same place that woman was.”
