Police: IED caused vehicle explosion at apartments

An improvised explosive device caused a vehicle explosion at a northeast-side apartment complex early Wednesday, police said Thursday.

Police were called at 1:09 a.m. Wednesday to the 3900 block of Newport Avenue, in Coliseum Park Apartments, near Parnell Avenue and North Clinton Street.

First responders discovered a 1999 black Buick Regal smoldering and completely destroyed. The Fort Wayne Police Department's bomb squad and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives began their investigation.

The blast is believed to have been caused by an improvised explosive device, or IED, causing damage equivalent to that of a half-pound of TNT, police said.

Bomb technicians recovered the front windshield on the roof of a two-story building, and the rear windshield atop another nearby building, police said.

The case remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the Fort Wayne Police Department or Crime Stoppers at 436-7867.