Authorities searching for clues in Santee pipe bomb case

SANTEE (CNS) – Sheriff's authorities are working to determine who left what appeared to be a pipe bomb in a gutter near a shopping center in Santee.

Deputies were called to investigate a foot-long, three-inch-wide PVC pipe in the 9500 block of Cuyamaca Street about 7:15 p.m. Thursday, according to San Diego County sheriff's Sgt. Curt Goldberg.

During the investigation, deputies cordoned off the nearby Home Depot parking lot and a section of the Target parking lot located across the street. Both lanes of Cuyamaca Street, between Mission Gorge Road and Town Center Parkway, were also closed to traffic.

A bomb and arson team eventually detonated the possible pipe bomb using a water cannon, Goldberg said, noting that the pipe was capped at both ends and later found to be completely full of half-inch to 1-inch-sized rocks.

No one was injured.