Explosive device thrown at German asylum home

Regional police spokesman says ‘it was just luck’ the bomb did not go off and nobody was hurt

By AP 29 January 2016, 10:58 am

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Illustrative photo of migrants walking from the main station in Dortmund, Germany, to a hall where they get first attendance, September 6, 2015. (AP/Martin Meissner)

Police in southwestern Germany said Friday they’re looking for suspects after an explosive device was hurled over the fence of an asylum seekers’ home in the town of Villingen-Schwenningen.

Regional police spokesman Thomas Kalmbach said “it was just luck” the device did not explode and nobody was harmed.

Kalmbach said an unidentified person threw the device toward the home at 1:15 a.m. It was noticed by residents, who quickly notified police. A bomb squad destroyed the device in a controlled explosion on the scene after evacuating the home.

Kalmbach said he can’t confirm a dpa news agency report that the device was a hand grenade with the pin removed.

Germany took in nearly 1.1 million asylum seekers last year and there have been multiple attacks on such residences.