Some excitement today for our little city as we awoke to the sound of helicopters hovering above (usually not a good thing). A bomb-threat, reported about 7 a.m., apparently targeted the Joint BioEnergy Institute, a laboratory facility run by Lawrence Berkeley Lab in partnership with several other national laboratories. The institute works to develop fuels that can be extracted from nonfood plants. UC police brought in bomb-sniffing dogs and explosives technicians to help clear the building and it’s estimated 1,000 employees. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Alameda County Fire Department also assisted. The investigation into the threat is ongoing, and as of Wednesday night, there were no suspects in the case.
E’ville is no stranger to these type of attacks with our infrastructure or biotech and pharmaceutical companies who’s sometimes controversial science attracts threats by various activist groups. Apparently that’s why they took the threat so seriously. In 2003 the Novartis campus (Then Chiron) was hit with multiple pipe bombs and then there’s this 1970’s Oakland Tribune Article about a Doggie Diner bombing that was recently unearthed. | More on MercuryNews.com →