Police Release Video, Photos Of Person Of Interest In Center City Package Explosion
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Police released surveillance video and photos of a person they are calling a person of interest in the Center City mail bombing that happened on Nov. 22.
Jim Alden, 60, suffered suffered shrapnel wounds when the package he opened exploded in his kitchen on 18th and Pine.
Police call it a "targeted act of violence."
"I don't want anyone out there thinking there's some random person delivering these things," said Sam Rabadi, the special agent in charge of the ATF in Philadelphia.
The motive behind the explosion was not immediately clear, and police say the victim does not appear to know who would want to hurt him.
Authorities are seeking the public's help in identifying the person of interest in the photo above. They say they will also release video.
Commissioner Richard Ross says they are not necessarily saying the person in the photos manufactured the device.
"It is important to try and identify the person who constructed it. It was very dangerous, and caused significant injuries and could've caused death," police say.
.@PhillyPolice are looking for this person of interest in connection to the Center City letter bomb that injured Jim Alden, 60. @CBSPhilly pic.twitter.com/EsrEcamho6
— Anita Oh (@anita_oh) December 1, 2016
Ross adds, "We do not have a motive right now. That's one of the challenges we're dealing with."
Alden told authorities he thought the package was medicine. He's currently out of the hospital, and told investigators he doesn't recognize the person in the video.
Authorities say they believe the person of interest is Asian, but they are unsure if the person is male or female.
They say he or she was wearing an "Elmer Fudd" type of hat and they could be in their late teens to early 30s.
The package is still being examined by ATF and an official says it was a homemade explosive device.
"I have been in this city for 16 years and I've never seen anything like it. I've spoken to colleagues, they haven't. Even beyond this city here, we haven't seen this type of device anywhere in this entire region on the entire east coast. It does concern us. But I don't want anyone to think there is some random person delivering these things, it was a specific target," said Rabadi.
ATF officials declined to say what made the bomb so rare, but they are taking DNA samples in hopes it will give them a match.
Police are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
