Bomb explodes at PayPal headquarters

November 1, 2006

A bomb exploded at 7:24 pm on Tuesday at the PayPal headquarters, a subsidiary of eBay, located in San Jose, California, causing the evacuation of employees from the building. Authorities stated that the explosion was "not an accident." Spokespeople for eBay said that the incident was "isolated" and that there were no injuries or deaths reported.

"It's definitely not an accident. Everything else there is accounted for. This was not any kind of accident or malfunction," said San Jose Police Sgt. Nick Muyo. He added that authorities have yet to find any kind of explosive device or material.

"We believe this is an isolated incident. We're working closely with local authorities. We have everything under control," said Amanda Pires, a spokeswoman for the PayPal division of the company.

The blast was seen from the street and was located in an area where workers take breaks. The initial damage reported was a broken window near the blast site.

Fire officials do not yet know the specifics of the bomb's makeup.

"Whatever it was, it disintegrated. Whatever caused this was pretty strong," said San Jose Fire Department Captain Jose Guerrero.

The San Jose Police are working with agents from the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Bureau (ATF) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), but it is reported that the San Jose Police are in charge of investigating the blast. There are no suspects at this time.