Owner of bombed club says investigation 'looking good'

• Authorities following up 2 claims of responsibility
• Club owner's brother performed late abortions
• 'Very strong' link to clinic bombing
• Potential targets warned
• Related stories and sites

February 25, 1997
Web posted at: 11:03 a.m. EST

ATLANTA (CNN) -- Federal investigators say the investigation into the bombing of The Otherside Lounge is "looking good," the owner of the nightclub told CNN.

But owner Beverly McMahon said she knew nothing about either of two groups that have claimed responsibility for the bombing. The blast occurred in the rear patio section of the lounge shortly before 10 p.m. Friday, injuring five people, one seriously.

The FBI received a letter Monday from a group calling itself the Army of God that claimed responsibility for the lounge bombing and for the bombing last month of an women's health clinic where abortions are performed in suburban Atlanta.

The letter, which was mailed to the Reuter news agency, threatens "total war" against the federal government. It voices violent opposition to abortion and warns of future attacks on homosexuals.

The Army of God has produced an underground manual that describes how to blow up clinics and suggests in the letter setting up a system so that it can confirm its role in future bombings.

"We're taking it seriously," said a spokeswoman for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. "We're looking into the validity of the letter and the claims they're making."

McMahon's late brother, Dr. James McMahon, was one the few doctors in the country who provided late-term abortions. He lived in Los Angeles and was mentioned in the January edition of Redbook magazine.

McMahon said, however, that she didn't see any connection between her brother's practice and the bombing of her club, which has a predominately lesbian clientele.

A spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) said a caller to the Gay Yellow Pages on Saturday claimed that a group called "Sons of the Confederate Klan" was behind the attack.

The Gay Yellow Pages, a listing of businesses and activities of interest to gay men and lesbians, has an Atlanta phone number, but has moved to Phoenix, Arizona. Calls to the Atlanta number are automatically forwarded to Phoenix.

The woman who took the call, Marci Alt, said the call came from a woman who claimed the group was responsible for the bomb. The caller described the group as "a new, neo-Nazi group in Los Angeles." (179K/15 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

Law enforcement sources said Monday there are "very strong" indications of a link between the nightclub bombing and the January 16 bombing of the Northside Family Planning Services Clinic in the Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs.

"There are some similarities (to the clinic bombing) that have not yet been reported publicly," one source said. The source added that there were also some similarities to the bombing of Centennial Olympic Park in July, "but not as many."

The bombs in all three incidents were packed with nails. Black powder was used in the Olympic bombing, authorities say, while dynamite was used in the bombing of the clinic. Authorities have not yet revealed what was used Friday night.

Police on Friday found a second bomb in a backpack hidden among some bushes in an parking lot adjacent to the lounge. The device was detonated harmlessly.

The bomb planted at the Olympics was also hidden in a backpack. One person was killed and more than 100 were injured in that attack.

In the clinic bombings, which injured seven people, one bomb went off near the building. A second, hidden near a dumpster, went off nearly an hour later and is believed to have been aimed at law enforcement officers investigating the first blast.

Atlanta Police Chief Beverly Harvard said in an interview that authorities are investigating the possibility of a serial bomber and of a copycat bomber.

Federal agents, meanwhile, have contacted possible targets of future attacks, including Jewish organizations, synagogues and schools in the Atlanta area, and African-American organizations and churches.

Related stories:

• Similarities mount in Atlanta bombings - February 24, 1997
• Police pursue leads in Atlanta bombing - February 23, 1997
• Police swarm Atlanta bombing site - February 23, 1997
• FBI: Atlanta gay bar blast raises specter of 'serial bomber' - February 22, 1997
• Bomb at Atlanta nightclub injures 5; 2nd bomb found nearby - February 22, 1997
• Explosion damages Atlanta family planning clinic - January 17, 1997
• Backpack crops up on Olympic video - December 14, 1996

Related sites:

• Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
• Atlanta Police Department
• The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
• The City of Atlanta's Fire Department

Tell us what you think! You said it...

© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Terms under which this service is provided to you.