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Friday, Nov 30, 2012 11:45 PM UTC

No injuries in Ariz. Social Security office blast

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No injuries in Ariz. Social Security office blastPolice investigate an apparent bomb explosion at the Social Security Administration office on Marshall Street in downtown Casa Grande, Ariz. on Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. No one was hurt in the explosion and federal authorities are conducting the investigation. (AP Photo/Casa Grande Dispatch, Steven King)(Credit: AP)

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities are investigating a small explosion that happened at the back entrance of a Social Security Administration office in a small town about 50 miles south of Phoenix.

The explosion was reported just before 8:30 a.m. Friday and no one was injured, Casa Grande Fire Marshal Barbara Rice said.

Television images show the building was blackened around the entry door, but Rice said the damage was not extensive.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives sent investigators to the scene. ATF spokesman Tom Mangan said the FBI had taken over the investigation and referred questions to that agency.

FBI spokeswoman Jennifer Giannola confirmed that the bureau was investigating the explosion along with state and local law enforcement agencies.

“There were no injuries and we are unable to confirm or deny whether anyone is in custody. This investigation remains ongoing, no further information will be provided at this time,” she said in an email to The Associated Press.

A resident whose wife works in the office and who talked to one of her co-workers said he was concerned about the staff, even though no one was hurt.

“She was crying and extremely upset,” Ed Mouradian told the Arizona Republic. “I am concerned for all the employees’ well-beings. It’s a small office that’s very tight-knit.”

Casa Grande was once a farming community of a few thousand people but grew into a distant bedroom community for Phoenix when developers began building hundreds of homes in the early 2000s.

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