TWO explosions rocked a building housing an Atlanta abortion clinic yesterday, the second injuring several people including emergency officials who had answered the initial call.
The first blast shattered one side of the building housing the Atlanta Northside Family Planning Services centre at around 9.30 a.m. Police said no one was injured at the site, located in a suburban community known as Sandy Springs.
But a little over an hour later, with emergency workers and TV camera crews milling about the site, a second explosion destroyed a refuse container in a corner of the adjacent parking lot, knocking people to the ground.
Fulton County Police said several people, primarily police and fire officials, were hurt in the second blast. Eyewitnesses said TV camera crews filming the scene also suffered injuries. Local television showed a man described as an agent with the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms being helped from the area.
"There was a big blast. It was almost like someone pushed you as hard as you possibly could be pushed. And all of a sudden it was pandemonium," a photographer who was near the container said on local television.
Police said they suspected that bombs were responsible for both explosions, even though there was no warning.