Aug 29, 2006 3:32 pm US/Pacific
FBI Expects Reward For Info On Attempted Attack
Incendiary Device Left At Home Of UCLA Researcher's Neighbor
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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The FBI said Tuesday it expects a $60,000 reward for information about an attempted attack on a UCLA researcher.
CBS
The FBI said Tuesday it expects a $60,000 reward for information about an attempted attack on a UCLA researcher to lead agents to an animal rights group.
The $60,000 reward should help agents find new leads in their investigation of an incendiary device left at the home of a UCLA researcher's neighbor, FBI spokesman Kenneth Smith said Tuesday.
"We hope that will generate more talk and some more leads for us," he said. "We're anticipating that it will in the next couple of days."
In a July 11 report on its Web site, the Animal Liberation Front said it had left the device at the home of a UCLA researcher in Bel Air on June 30, Smith said.
Los Angeles Fire Department investigators said the device -- which failed to ignite -- was left at the wrong house, a residence actually occupied by a 70-year-old woman and her male tenant. The address was not disclosed.
"The ALF has yet to admit their potentially deadly error," Smith said in a news release. "The incendiary device used was similar to devices used by animal rights and environmental extremists."
The device, which contained a flammable liquid, was left at the victim's door, Smith said.
"It is the opinion of arson investigators that if the device had functioned properly, escape would have been difficult to impossible, given the hillside location of the house, possibly resulting in the death of the inhabitants of the residence," Smith said.
A reward of up to $30,000 had been offered by the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect or suspects in the crime.
UCLA officials said the university would match that amount, which doubled the reward.
Smith said the UCLA researcher has been the target of protests by animal rights groups in the past.
Anyone knowing more about the crime was urged to call the FBI's 24-hour number, (310) 477-6565.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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