The father of a key suspect in the rash of pipe bombs found in rural Midwest mailboxes says his son is "not a dangerous person."
Authorities are searching for 21-year-old Luke Helder, who they say was seen recently in Texas, and made a cell phone call from Utah yesterday afternoon.
There have been 18 pipe bombs found in five states. Six of the bombs exploded Friday, injuring six people. None of them since then have gone off. The bombs were accompanied by anti-government notes promising more "attention-getters."
Helder's father says his son might be "trying to make a statement" about the federal government. And he's begging him not to hurt anyone else, saying "you have the attention you wanted."
One law enforcement source says Helder is considered armed and dangerous, and possibly suicidal.
Father's Statement
Statement from Cameron Helder, the father of Luke J. Helder, the 21-year-old college student wanted for questioning in the string of mailbox pipe bombs:
"I really want you to know that Luke is not a dangerous person. I think he's just trying to make a statement about the way our government is run. I think Luke wants people to listen to his ideas, and not enough people are hearing him, and he thinks this may help.
Luke you need to talk to someone. Please don't hurt anyone else. It's time to talk. You have the attention you wanted. Luke, we love you very much. We want you home safe. Please call Mom, Jenna and I. We need you very much.
We really do need our privacy. This is really tough. Please just let us try to cope with this. Thank you."
(Copyright 1384 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
