BY TANYA BRICKING
The Cincinnati Enquirer
![[bomb]](/editions/1998/10/23/bomb_150x179.jpg)
Officials gather evidence from Thursday's bomb explosion in Over-the-Rhine.
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Two bombs set off in Cincinnati neighborhoods since Saturday destroyed only garbage cans.
But they were powerful enough to frighten neighbors, and they have firefighters investigating whether they are the products of the same bomber.
"I wouldn't want to say they were sophisticated (devices), but there was somebody with some knowledge here," Assistant Fire Chief Gary Auffart said.
The second device went off about 8:30 a.m. Thursday in a trash can in front of Common Ground Ministries on Mohawk Place and West McMicken Avenue in Over-the-Rhine.
"If there had been somebody in the area of the can, it could have caused severe, if not fatal, injuries," Chief Auffart said.
But no one was near the sidewalk at the time of the blast or when a bomb exploded about the same time Saturday in a trash can outside a public housing complex in Walnut Hills.
Thursday's bomb had a timer, batteries, aluminum foil and cords that appeared to be in an oatmeal-box type container, said Mark Lingle, Common Ground's director of operations and housing.
A tenant alerted him about the bomb hours after it went off, and they scrambled to retrieve evidence garbage collectors began to haul away.
Mr. Lingle made a non-emergency call to the fire division, and crews immediately arrived, along with the division's bomb unit and the U.S. Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). ATF labs will help examine evidence, said Fire Capt. Robert Becker, commander of the fire division's bomb squad.
Fire investigators confirmed the two bombs were similar and more sophisticated than typical homemade wick-and-accelerant devices.
But they declined to elaborate on how these bombs were made. Mr. Lingle said he's just thankful no one was hurt.
In Walnut Hills, Gertrude Long had a similar reaction.
The 73-year-old has lived in the 30-unit housing complex on Chapel Street for 10 years.
When she looked outside after Saturday's explosion, she saw the bomb unit's truck.
"It scared us to death," she said.
"We're still scared that it will happen again."
Mr. Lingle said he knows of no connection between the housing complex and his ministry.
Neither place has reported threats.
"You have to be careful," Mr. Lingle said. "You have to be a little bit more aware of your surroundings."
Chief Auffart asks anyone with information to call the fire investigation unit at 352-4994, or to call 911 if they notice anything suspicious.
"The public should know they should never try to open or move what they think is a suspicious package," he said.
"This is the second device that we have had.
"People in the area need to be on the lookout."
![[bomb]](/editions/1998/10/23/bomb_461x500.jpg)
