Live Pipe Bomb Found in Forest Hills USPS Mailbox

A live pipe bomb was found in a Forest Hills USPS mailbox on Monday night, causing a clearing of the area, and was disposed of by detonation by a Cook County bomb disposal squad at 8:40 p.m.

Western Springs emergency personnel responded to reports of smoke coming from the mailbox, but found no smoke. A USPS postal employee opened the mailbox and found an odd object, which was confirmed to be a bomb by the Fire Department and the Cook County bomb squad.

The mailbox sits behind the Presbyterian Church of Western Springs, on the 5200 block of Lawn Avenue. Several blocks of Forest Hills were cordoned off around the area for over an hour.

At 8:40 p.m., a loud bang and a flash of light signaled the safe and controlled detonation of the bomb. A special type of shot was fired into the bomb to dispose of it.

Deputy Fire Chief Gary Mayor said that there was a partially-burnt wick on the bomb, and that it had failed to detonate, sparing the mailbox.

“It probably was not put together correctly, so something didn’t work and it didn’t explode like it should have,” Mayor staid.

Some pieces of mail were destroyed in the process of detonation.

There are currently no leads. “We don’t have any idea who did this,” said Fire Chief Tony Bednarz.

Firefighters and members of the bomb disposal squad were seen collecting evidence for 15 minutes after the blast.

“We haven’t had one of these in the area for a long time,” said Mayor.

This is a breaking news alert. Patch coverage will continue.