by Cassondra Strande - May. 24, 2012 04:53 PM
The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team
A flashlight rigged with explosives went off inside a Phoenix Salvation Army distribution center Thursday afternoon, slightly injuring two employees, authorities said.
PHOTOS: Explosive device at Salvation Army in Phoenix | 
LIVE 12 News report
Phoenix police said preliminary evidence suggests the incident could be linked to two other cases in which a person or persons left flashlights packed with explosives in Glendale on May 13 and 14. In each of the previous attacks, a person who found the rigged flashlight suffered minor injuries.
Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded to the scene Thursday, as they did with the earlier Glendale incidents.
In the latest case, a Salvation Army employee found a flashlight and tried to turn it on when the flashlight exploded, injuring the employee, as well as a co-worker who was nearby, authorities said.
The explosion occurred Thursday about 3:30 p.m. at the Salvation Army at 1625 S. Central Ave, about half a mile south of Buckeye Road. The building and surrounding area were evacuated as a precaution, Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Trent Crump said.
Police transported people evacuated from the store to another Salvation Army at 14th Street and Broadway road.
Phoenix police will not know for sure if the cases are connected until bomb technicians review the cases.
The flashlights found in Glendale were each described as a 9-volt yellow hand-held flashlight. Both were left outside near businesses, said Sgt. Brent Coombs, a spokesman for the Glendale Police Department. Glendale police will assist Phoenix police to determine whether the cases are related.
No arrests have been made in the three incidents.
