Fremont Police Search for Clues and Motive in Firebomb Cases

FREMONT, Calif. —  Investigators searched Monday for the bomber who left explosives at the homes of the city’s police chief and a councilman in what police are calling “acts of terrorism.”

No one was hurt when one bomb exploded outside Police Chief Craig Steckler’s home early Sunday, ripping a 10-foot-wide hole in the roof. Authorities safely dismantled a second device found outside the house of Councilman Bob Wasserman, Steckler’s predecessor as police chief.

The case was being treated as attempted murder, and both men were being guarded around the clock. Police reported no suspects and no motives Monday.

“We as a department are terrified right now,” police spokesman Dennis Madsen said. “Someone’s trying to kill the chief.”

The first bomb--made of metal and plastic and filled with liquid--went off at 4:16 a.m. Sunday as the Steckler family slept, burning the front porch and blasting through the roof.

Later that afternoon, Wasserman--Fremont’s police chief from 1976 to 1992--called 911 after his wife found an explosive in a brown paper bag on the walkway to their front door, Madsen said.

“She said, I think you’d better look at this,” Wasserman said.

Both bombs were fairly sophisticated, authorities said.

Wasserman said he couldn’t think of who might have a grudge against him or Steckler.