Principal targeted by car bombing?
Police are investigating after a suspected homemade explosive device damages a car in Blackstone
BLACKSTONE – Classes started off amid beefed up police security at neighboring Bellingham High School Friday after an explosion caused by what investigators believe was a homemade pipe bomb damaged a Jeep outside the principal’s home on Lakeshore Drive here the previous evening.
Bellingham High School Principal Lucas A. Giguere wasn’t taking calls at work, but the school district acknowledged that precautions had been taken to make sure students were safe after Thursday night’s explosion.
“Due to a recent local event there is an ongoing police investigation,” the district said. “The safety of students and staff is our number one priority. To ensure safety of our students and staff there is additional police presence at the high school today. All classes and activities are proceeding as normal
throughout the district.”
Bellingham School Supt. Peter D. Marano released a statement saying the school district has no further comment at this time. He directed all questions from the media to the police.
A silver Jeep parked outside Lucas’ ranch house at 152 Lakeshore Drive was damaged by the explosive device shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday, Blackstone Police Chief Ross A. Atstupenas said.
The chief said the suspected pipe bomb had apparently been affixed to the grill of the vehicle before it exploded, causing damage to the front end, the radiator and the engine block. No one was injured. “I want to stress first and foremost that we do not believe that there is any danger to the community and that this does not appear to have been a random act,” Chief Atstupenas said. “Thank you to all our residents for their patience and assistance today as we work on the investigation.”
The investigation thus far indi- cates that the resident was targeted, Atstupenas said.
Giguere was named principal of Bellingham High School in 2015 and had previously held various positions in the Franklin school district, including assistant principal of the high school. He has a master’s degree in education from Endicott College as well as undergraduate degrees Westfield State University.
From 1998 to 2005, Giguere served in the Marine Corps, holding the rank of sergeant. He served during Operation Enduring Freedom, most of which involved combat operations in Afghanistan.
Atsupenas said officers responded to Giguere’s home after receiving a report of possible vandalism to a vehicle. After arriving, Giguere told police he heard “a loud bang that shook his home” and then noticed extensive damage to his vehicle.
Multiple law enforcement agencies in two states – local, state and federal – are now involved in the investigation, including Blackstone and Bellingham police, the Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and, in neighborboring Rhode Island, the Woonsocket Police Department.
Police are reaching out to the public for help in identifying whoever was responsible for targeting the principal. If anyone saw anything suspicious in the area around the time of the explosion or has any information that might be helpful in identifying a suspect, they are encouraged to call the Blackstone police at 501-883-1212.