Hammond employee: Munster pipe bomb suspect targeted him because of his political views

HAMMOND — A city employee said he remains on high alert after receiving a threatening letter last month allegedly sent by a Munster man now suspected by the FBI of manufacturing a pipe bomb that detonated at an East Chicago post office.

“My wife was already worried, because we had been warned, after the first incident, to be careful about opening packages. I didn’t really think much of it. In my 60 years, I’ve gone through much of my life without making enemies,” he said Friday.

The employee, who spoke to The Times on the condition his name was not published, also said he “has no doubt” his liberal political leanings and outspoken support for Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., a Democrat, led a 45-year-old BP engineer to allegedly threaten him with his life.

The Hammond worker received the letter Sept. 29. He said the “strange” envelope contained a bullet with a message that read, "The next one will be in the back of your head.”

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