A Costa Mesa man died after blowing up a bomb in his front yard, according to neighbors. Authorities searched his home and safely detonated other pipe bombs on April 15, 2013. NBC4’s Reggie Kumar reports.
A neighborhood in Costa Mesa was reopened to residents Monday night, nearly a full day after a man apparently blew himself up outside his home.
The incident happened at 8 p.m. Sunday in the 3100 block of Bermuda Drive near Labrador Drive.
Someone noticed a man on the ground in a front yard and called an ambulance.
The man declined an offer of help. It wasn't until later, police and neighbors said, that he blew himself up.
"He was under his own power to get back to his own residence," said Sgt. Jerry Hildeman, of the Costa Mesa Police Department. "We believed we didn’t have any reason to go further."
The police came back and found the man dead. They believe he was wearing two pipe bombs. They say it's unclear whether he committed suicide or accidentially killed himself.
Neighbors were evacuated as personnel from the Orange County Sheriff's Bomb Squad and Orange County Fire Authority Hazardous Materials Unit combed through the home. Authorities found and detonated a second explosive.
Residents were allowed back into their homes at about 5 p.m., Costa Mesa police officials said.
FBI agents assisted local authorities in case there were any federal laws broken, said Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokeswoman.
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Laurie Raphoon, a neighbor, was one of the residents who was evacuated.
She said she was shocked when she heard an explosion. She said it happened after a neighbor, who she described as in his late 40s or early 50s, collapsed outside his home and refused to be taken to a hospital.
"Neighbors were trying to convince him to go to the hospital," Raphoon said. "An hour or two later we heard an explosion."
