Hemet Gang Task Force Narrowly Escapes Explosive

HEMET -Investigators with the Hemet/San Jacinto Valley Gang Task Force narrowly escaped unscathed today when they noticed their office flooded with natural gas in an apparently deliberate attempt to cause a deadly explosion, police said.

Investigators entering the nondescript building in the 500 block of St. John Place smelled the gas about 8:30 a.m., Hemet police Lt. Duane Wisehart said.

Wisehart said if someone had turned on a light switch or a lamp or a pilot light and caused a spark, the building would have blown up.

“It was basically designed so that once somebody came in and moved around a little bit, it would have gone off,” he said. “At the very least, it would have leveled the building and killed whoever was inside.”

Though the building was secured, someone managed to let the gas into the building, Wisehart said, but declined to give specifics.

There was no word on possible suspects, but police were working on the theory that the gang detectives were the intended victims.

The building was evacuated so experts could do a thorough search for possible explosives, Wisehart said.