3 people detained after explosive device thrown Mesa police officer’s patrol vehicle

Three people were detained after somebody threw an explosive device at a Mesa police officer’s patrol vehicle on Thursday morning, authorities said.

The officer was taken to a hospital to be evaluated after the explosion near 96th Street and Southern Avenue, according to the Mesa Police Department.

“Investigators have let us know that it was an undetermined explosive device that was intentionally thrown at a police car,” Detective Laura Cervantes told reporters at the scene. “It is an isolated incident. There are no threats to the community, and we are actively trying to put all the pieces together about what happened.”

Officers initially responded to the area for a shots-fired call near 96th Street and Hampton Avenue, south of Southern Avenue, just after 6 a.m.

While they were searching surrounding neighborhoods, one of the officers reported that an explosion damaged his vehicle near 96th Street and Sunland Avenue, about a half-mile north of where shots were heard earlier.

The three subjects were detained in connection with the explosion, police said.

“The shots-fired call is a completely separate incident,” Cervantes said. “This officer … was just going through the neighborhoods trying to figure out what was going on. He was parked, he was inside his vehicle, and the lights were on, and then he reported hearing a loud explosion.”

The Mesa police bomb squad, criminal investigators and crime scene technicians are working at the scene. The public is being asked to avoid the area during the investigation.

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