The Midpeninsula Free University

MFU Articles Published by The Stanford Daily
1969

More Paly Bombings

Community leaders and police alike are growing increasingly concerned that someone is going to be killed or maimed as terrorist-style bombing attacks continue to plague the Midpeninsula.

The most recent attack occurred Tuesday night, when a bomb shattered over 20 windows and blew a hole in the floor of the Concerned Citizens and Resistance headquarters on Lytton Ave. in Palo Alto.

The blast was apparently the result of a grenade-type explosive device according to police.

Pieces of shrapnel from a pineapple-type hand grenade partially charged with powder gouged holes in the walls and blew off several shingles. The casings of this type of device are available in most surplus stores.

Neighbors who came outside upon hearing the blast noticed no suspicious persons or vehicles. There was no one in the building when the blast occurred at about 10:45 p.m.

This was the second attack directed against the Concerned Citizens in recent months and is part of a wave of bombings aimed at liberal and left-wing persons and institutions.

One of these bombs is going to come in a window, explode, and then we'll have a murder on our hands, said Captain Guy Wathen of the Palo Alto Police Dept.

Sunday afternoon a pipe bomb was discovered on a window ledge behind the Midpeninsula Free University store in Menlo Park.

There were 20 people, including a 3-month-old child, inside the store when the bomb was discovered.

The bomb failed to go off because of a defective fuse.

The Free U. store has been a favorite target of the bombers in the past. The store is currently being remodeled, partly because of damage suffered in bombings and break-ins.

Another unexploded device was found last Thursday on the front seat of a car parked only two houses away from the home of Mrs. Enid Pearson, a liberal member of the Palo Alto City Council.

The home of another liberal councilman, Kirke Comstock was heavily damaged in a recent bombing.

Last weekend a peace center in San Jose was bombed. No one was injured. It is not known if this has any connection with the incidents in this area.

Local police agencies are conducting an extensive investigation, and many past targets of the bombers are reportedly under close surveillance.