Pipe bomb found after Sydney explosion

16:33 AEST Tue Jul 15 2008

A car bomb explosion and a series of gunshots fired in a northern Sydney housing estate early on Tuesday were intended to harm people, police say.

Emergency crews were called to Walkers Drive in Lane Cove North about 3.50am (AEST) on Tuesday after a resident reported what sounded like gunshots.

Police discovered a home-made pipe bomb had exploded under a parked car and also found a number of bullet casings.

"At this stage there's in excess of eight (casings)," Detective Inspector Peter Yeomans told reporters.

A second, similar explosive device, undetonated, was found beneath a black Jeep Cherokee and safely removed by police bomb squad technicians.

Forensic officers were examining the vehicle, which appeared to have sustained minor damage and had holes in its exterior.

"It would appear that it is a home-made device, what is known as a pipe bomb, constructed of metal and with some sort of explosive device inserted in it, and obviously, when it ignites, then shrapnel is a consequence of it," Det Insp Yeomans said.

The attack did not appear to be random or a scare tactic, he said.

"A device in relation to a home-made pipe bomb and a number of shots which we believe were fired from possibly an automatic weapon - I'd say that was to harm people," Det Insp Yeomans said.

No one was injured in the attack and the motivation remained unclear, he said.

"It's only early in the investigation. We can't say at this time what the reasons are for this," Det Insp Yeomans said.

"We're interviewing a number of persons from the residences, and we're trying to contact a number of people who had vacated their premises prior to police arriving."

This was the first time police had been called to the estate, he said.

Local residents said the estate had been crime-free until today.

Anne Cox, who has lived in the Lane Cove North Estate for four years, said she had never experienced criminal activity there before.

"It's a great estate, no trouble in here at all ... nothing like that's happened before. It's a bit suspicious," she said.

A fellow resident of five years, Christine Stow, praised the police response, but said the incident was concerning.

"This is a quiet, peaceful area ... it's very safe, so it seems quite unusual that someone would be planting homemade bombs," she said.

"Hopefully, this is a one-off, and I don't know what's pre-empted it, but I certainly hope it goes away."

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