Vehicle sweep completed at Boulder Co. Sheriff's Office amid ongoing bomb investigation; no threat

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. – The FBI and Boulder County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate how and why an explosive device ended up at a Nederland shopping center near the town’s police station.

Both agencies conducted a vehicle sweep at the sheriff’s office Thursday morning. The sheriff’s office had been closed during the sweep, but reopened around 10:30 after the sweep.

The FBI confirms it and the sheriff's office conducted a preliminary sweep on a vehicle from a person who came to the sheriff's office with information on the initial explosive.

The sweep was precautionary and there was no threat to the public, the FBI said.

The FBI and sheriff’s office have opened a tip line regarding the Nederland bomb. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call 303-441-3677.

The improvised explosive device failed to go off after a police officer stumbled across a backpack containing the bomb when arriving to work Tuesday morning.

The officer brought the bag inside headquarters, and upon finding the explosive, had all workers evacuate the building.

After hours of investigating, an explosives robot detonated the device.

The FBI, Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and Nederland Police Department are all involved in the ongoing investigation. Nederland Police Department are all involved in the ongoing investigation.

Former FBI agent Kevin Knierim, who now works as a private investigator, says the fact the bomb was found in a town as small as Nederland could help police catch their suspect.

“Probably makes it in a weird way easier to investigate because there is less folks but then there is less reasons," Knierim says.

Knierim adds that the bomb itself will give investigators even more clues.

"They blew the [IED] up and they know what it was made of, so they can take those materials and trace back to where maybe where they were bought,” said Knierim.

The location of the bomb will be important to the investigation as well, since the bomb was placed right outside the Nederland police building.

“Obliviously [police] are going to be thinking about cases that have happened recently and who is willing to do something this egregious,” Knierim says.

Knierim says the suspect was someone who likely wanted to send a strong message without getting attention, since no notes were left behind.

“It’s always been my theory that somebody that's really serious about doing something doesn't telegraph it,” Knierim says.