NAACP to remain ‘vigilant’ after blast near Colorado Springs office

Photo: NAACP President and CEO William Brooks (AP Photo)
William Brooks is the president and CEO of the NAACP.

The head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) says he's thankful no one was hurt after an explosion near the organization's Colorado Springs office on Tuesday.

"We remain vigilant," said NAACP President Cornell Brooks said in a statement.

The organization's national office in Baltimore said it's looking forward to a "full and thorough investigation" of the blast at a barber shop next door to the NAACP's local chapter.

The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating the explosion. FBI spokeswoman Amy Sanders says investigators are looking for a balding white man in his 40s who may be driving a dirty pickup truck.

No one was injured in the incident, and photos show little damage.

FBI tight-lipped about investigation into explosion outside NAACP offices http://t.co/55rDqyOQdH photo by @markereis pic.twitter.com/sFrRFVNVYC

The FBI's Sanders said it's too early to tell if the incident was a hate crime.

The leader of the local NAACP chapter told the Colorado Springs Gazette he wasn't sure the explosion was a hate crime, but said the organization "will not be deterred."

"We believe in civil rights for all, and really we won't work in fear and we won't be deterred," he said. "We'll move on. This won't deter us from doing the job we want to do in the community."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.