Pipe bombs found in Layton were real, police say

A bomb scare at a Layton car wash Wednesday ended up being more than just a routine call.

Police today revealed there were an estimated 40 pipe bombs found inside a trash can at the business, and they were not fake.

"They did contain explosives," said Layton police Sgt. Mark Chatlin. "That's exactly the reason (the bomb squad) took the precautions they did."

A four-block area was shut down, with traffic diverted and businesses evacuated, for 12 hours Wednesday while a bomb squad investigated and eventually rendered the devices safe. Investigators did not complete their work and leave the car wash until early this morning, Chatlin said.

Car wash owner Ken Farr discovered the pipe bombs Wednesday morning. He said they were made out of PVC, were about 2 inches in diameter and 6 inches long, had fuses coming out of them and were painted Army green. The devices were wrapped in a green tarp.

Investigators did not know today if the car wash itself was targeted.

"We're not sure what the motive is. We're not sure if someone was discarding the explosives, if someone had bad intentions," Chatlin said.

Detectives were going through surveillance video today of a nearby business looking for clues. Police did not know how long the pipe bombs had been in the trash can before they were discovered.

"We've had quite a few people call in with different types of information," Chatlin said. "We're following up on phone calls. We hope to get more phone calls."

Anyone with information on the pipe bombs or who may have seen something suspicious at the car wash can call police at 497-8300.

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