COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A homemade explosive device went off near downtown Colorado Springs on Jan 12, 2024. The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) says that the explosion damaged the windows of a business in the area of 548 E. Costilla Street.
CSPD says that officers responded to calls of an explosion near downtown Colorado Springs . Patrol officers found evidence of an improvised explosive device (IED) and called in the Regional Explosives Unit (REU) to take over the investigation.
CSPD officers obtained a video that shows what CSPD said appeared to be an improvised hot air balloon with an object hanging from it on fire. The balloon caught on a fence and then exploded, blasting out the windows of a business. Officers found the balloon still snagged on the fence.
Court documents say that responding REU officers found PVC Pex tubing and 3M plastic sheeting. They also saw wires tied across the balloon that suspended the fuel source.
According to court documents, REU officers had investigated two other explosions in the immediate area in the past 12 years.