7 Suspects Caught on Tape Placing Explosive Device in News Box

Police say the explosion was heard up to a mile away

Police are looking for the group of people who put an explosive device in a news box early Tuesday morning in Salem, Massachusetts.

Seven people were caught on surveillance video placing the unknown device inside the box belonging to The Rainbow Times in Salem Square at 1:19 a.m.

Authorities said the explosion rocked the downtown area and was heard up to a mile away.

“At first it was very shocking to me,” said Nicole Lashomb, editor of the paper. “I literally gasped and covered my mouth.”

Lashomb said over the last three months, her newspaper's boxes have been vandalized nearly a dozen times.

“For example, the newspapers box had chicken carcasses and crab shells and it filled from the bottom all the way up to the top," she said. "So when you opened the door, a pile of trash fell on you.”

Lashomb said police are now monitoring all of her newspaper's boxes.

Anyone with information on the identities of the suspects in the surveillance video are asked to call Salem Police Detective Kevin St. Pierre at 978-744-0171 ext.179.

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