Bombs explode in west Topeka

One explodes in yard of Phelps' daughter; no one injured.

Authorities were investigating two confirmed bomb explosions late Sunday in west Topeka, one of which rocked the home of Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of anti-homosexual picketer the Rev. Fred Phelps Sr.

No injuries were reported in either blast.

Topeka Police Department officials said several other bomb explosions were reported Sunday night at other west-side locations. However, no other confirmations were reported.

Police said they had reports of bomb explosions late Sunday in neighborhoods near S.W. 21st and Gage and in the 3600 block of S.W. Churchill.

According to police reports, the victim of the Churchill explosion was Phelps-Roper.

Phelps-Roper’s father is pastor of Westboro Baptist Church, which conducts daily picketing against homosexuals and is known for using strong language on picket signs and in fax messages.

The bomb at the Phelps-Roper residence, listed on police reports as 3640 S.W. Churchill, exploded in a yard at 11:20 p.m. Sunday.

A 1993 Ford 12-passenger van at the resident sustained an estimated $2,000 damage in the explosion, while a wooden privacy fence had an estimated $150 in damage, according to police reports.

Phelps-Roper said the explosion shook things off the wall in the north upstairs and downstairs portions of her home.

“Fortunately,” she said, “it didn’t hurt anybody.”

Phelps-Roper said she had just put her 4-day-old baby to bed when the bomb exploded. Her seven other children weren’t awakened from their sleep in another portion of the house.

“I just wonder if that person knew there were eight little children in the house,” she said, “or whether it would matter to a person who would do something like that.”

After the explosion, she said she saw a “big billow of smoke” in the air that was moving west toward S.W. Gage.

Relatives and neighbors who lived hereby also heard the explosion and came outside to see what had happened. She said her husband, Brent Roper, checked outside but saw no car leaving the area.

She said her brother, Tim Phelps, brought a flashlight to her residence to check on possible explosives in the yard.

Splintered pieces from the wooden fence and orange plastic that may have been from the explosive device were found in the yard.

Phelps-Roper said police later took a report on the incident and also removed the orange plastic material from the premises.

More of the material was found in the yard on Monday, she said. “It was some kind of orange plastic container that was blown to pieces,” she said.

Phelps-Roper said she didn’t want to speculate on whether someone set off the bomb intentionally at her residence.