Police and firefighters examine and remove a device from the roof of a home next to the Chabad House Lubavitch in Santa Monica on Thursday, April 7, 2011. Authorities want to question a transient named Ron Hirsch in connection with the incident. (AP Photo/David Zentz)
This photo provided by the Santa Monica Police Department shows Ron Hirsch, 60, a transient, who has been linked to an explosion April 7, 2011 near Chabad House Lubavitch of Santa Monica,Calif. Police stepped up patrols at synagogues and other houses of worship in Los Angeles looking for Hirsch.
This photo provided by the Santa Monica Police Department shows Ron Hirsch, 60, a transient, who has been linked to an explosion April 7, 2011 near Chabad House Lubavitch of Santa Monica,Calif. Police stepped up patrols at synagogues and other houses of worship in Los Angeles looking for Hirsch. (AP Photo/Santa Monica Police Department)
A man using the name J. Fisher -- a known alias used by suspect Ron Hirsch -- purchased a Greyhound bus ticket to New York that was scheduled to arrive there on Sunday, said Laura Eimiller of the FBI. Hirsch is believed to have family in New York, Eimiller said. However, she noted that there are at least 10 destinations between Los Angeles and New York where the bus made stops.
"Investigators and video surveillance indicates that Hirsch disembarked the bus in Denver and may have further deviated from his original route," Eimiller said.
The explosion occurred about 6:45 a.m. Thursday outside Chabad House Lubavich, at 17th Street and Broadway. The blast damaged a wall and sent a 300-pound hunk of concrete, with a metal bar attached, into the air and through the roof of a house next door. No one was hurt.
Police circulated a photo of Hirsch, a 60-year-old transient also known as Israel Fisher. He was described as white, 5 feet 7 inches tall and 205 pounds, with green eyes, thinning brown hair and a full beard.
He is known to beg outside synagogues, including Congregation Bais Yehuda on North La Brea Avenue, according to police.
At first, authorities though the blast was a freak accident. But investigators, including federal agents, later found evidence linking Hirsch to the crime, Eimiller said.
"A lengthy forensic post-blast investigation of the incident site was conducted following the initial field assessment and resulted in evidence indicating that the device appeared to have been deliberately constructed," Eimiller said.
"Based on his suspected involvement in this incident, Hirsch is considered extremely dangerous," Eimiller said. "No known motive for a deliberate attack is known at this time."
Some reward money is available for information in the case, Eimiller said. Anyone with information on Hirsch's whereabouts is urged to call police at (310) 458-8427; the FBI's number (888) CANT HIDE; or 911.
Sarah Wynter Rachel Perry Samaire Armstrong Daniella Alonso Jennifer Morrison
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