Pipe bomb device the source of explosion Sunday

The device that prompted the evacuation of a Cape Girardeau neighborhood Sunday morning was a pipe bomb, a federal agent said Wednesday.

David Salzmann, 44, of Jackson was jailed Tuesday on charges of second-degree assault of a law enforcement officer, unlawful possession of a weapon and violation of an order of protection after what police described as a failed suicide attempt outside the house where his wife was staying.

Salzmann is accused of detonating a homemade explosive device while sitting in a Cadillac outside a residence in the 1200 block of North Spanish Street.

Trista Frederick, special agent and public information officer for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, confirmed the device was a pipe bomb.

Cape Girardeau police, members of the Southeast Missouri Regional Bomb Squad and federal agents evacuated the block around the Cadillac and searched the area for additional devices as a precaution, but Frederick said the bomb was too poorly constructed to pose a serious risk to anyone but Salzmann.

"Had it been constructed a little bit better, it could have killed ... the suspect ... and the one officer as he approached," she said, adding that the extent of the damage from a well-constructed bomb would be pure speculation.

Frederick declined to provide specific details about the bomb, citing the possibility of pending prosecution.

"'Pipe bomb' is kind of a broad term for a cylindrical tube, whether it's metal or plastic," she said. "It's capped on each end [and filled] with some kind of explosive material."

Frederick said constructing a pipe bomb is a violation of federal law.

No federal charges have been filed against Salzmann at this time, she said.

"I can't say that there will be. We always have these discussions," Frederick said.

Sgt. J.T. Selzer of the Cape Girardeau Police Department said someone at the house where Salzmann's wife was staying called police at 7:27 a.m. Sunday to report Salzmann was outside.

Salzmann detonated the device in a failed attempt to commit suicide as an officer approached the car, Selzer said.

Online court records show Salzmann was in the Cape Girardeau County Jail on $75,000 cash-only bond.

His court record includes a drug charge for which he was placed on probation in 2010; a misdemeanor assault charge to which he pleaded guilty in 2011; and several orders of protection involving allegations of abuse against his stepchildren, his mother and another adult.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

1200 block of North Spanish Street, Cape Girardeau, Mo.