Feds involved in Pittsburgh explosion investigation, firework suspected in Hill District blast

Federal authorities are involved in the investigation into separate explosions Sunday night in two Pittsburgh neighborhoods, authorities said.

Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will assist in investigating an explosion caused by an improvised bomb in Lawrenceville and a reported explosion in the Hill District.

Police said they now believe the two incidents were not related, and one of them might have been caused by a firework, Cruz said.

The first incident happened just after 9 p.m. when someone tossed an improvised explosive out the window of a moving vehicle along Penn Avenue between 36^th and 37^th streets.

The explosive damaged the undercarriage of a parked car, but no one was injured, Cruz said. The bomb squad continues to investigate, and investigators are looking for a white pickup truck in connection with the incident.

Pittsburgh Police, the FBI, and ATF are investigating two separate incidents involving explosives on Jan 3, 2021.

The first incident involved an IED that damaged a vehicle.

Investigators do not believe the second incident is related.

More details ➡️https://t.co/ktBIluO1Ij

— Pittsburgh Police (@PghPolice) January 4, 2021

Police responded about 10:30 p.m. to Dinwiddie Street in the Hill District for a report of another possible explosion. Cruz said residents in the area reported feeling their houses shake, along with sensing “an odor in the air.” Explosive-sniffing dogs found now evidence at the Hill District scene, and investigators believe an aerial firework caused the shaking and the odor, she said.

Police are working with the federal authorities and stressed that the investigation “is still in its early stages.” Investigators said they are reviewing camera footage from both areas.

Anyone with information on either incident is asked to call police headquarters at 412-323-7800.