No one hurt after explosive device detonated in downtown Aurora

Police are looking for leads as they investigate the explosion of an incendiary device in downtown Aurora on Saturday morning.

No one was injured in the blast, which took place outside of Premier Exteriors, 421 S. River St. Dozens of windows were destroyed on the first two levels on the west side of the building.

Police spokesman Dan Ferrelli would not comment on the size or sophistication of the device, citing the ongoing investigation. He said he could not speculate on a possible motive.

Finding the device stunned police, who say there is no evidence of a trend.

"A couple of years ago we investigated a number of crudely-made devices placed in mail boxes on the east side," Ferrelli said. "This device had a lot more power."

The building is at River and Prairie streets in the southern part of downtown, about a block south of Steck Park and just west of the Fox River.

Premier Exteriors installs siding and does other exterior work on homes. A second hand clothing store is also housed in the building, but it was vacant at the time of the explosion.

Police and fire units went to the scene about 9 a.m. after receiving numerous calls that an explosion was heard in the downtown area.

Upon arrival, emergency personnel made contact with an employee of the company who said he had just stepped out of a van he had driven into the building's lower level, when the explosion occurred.

Ferrelli said the van driver was not a suspect.

"It would seem that the employees had nothing to do with this," Ferrelli said.

Officers found the device between a wall and a garbage dumpster along the west side exterior of the building. Neither the van driver, nor another employee who was in the building at the time of the incident, was injured. Police say that damage was confined to the building's windows.

The Kane County Sheriff Department's Bomb Squad, Aurora Fire Department Arson Investigators, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are conducting an investigation.

Ferrelli said further information from the investigation would be available Monday at the earliest.

"Right now, we're trying to cultivate leads," he said. "We'd like anyone with information to call us."

You can call Aurora Police at (630) 801-6655, or Aurora Area Crime Stoppers at (630) 892-1000.