Suicide Follows 2 Bomb Blasts in Town

Two pipe bombs exploded in a pair of downtown restaurants in Astoria, sending diners running into the streets in panic. After the explosions, a man shot and killed himself inside one of the restaurants. No one was injured in either blast. “It appears they were fairly small,” police dispatcher Dick Lang said. The name of the man who shot himself was being withheld pending notification of his family. Several hours before the explosions, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Gordon Smith had stopped in at one of the restaurants as part of a 12-city campaign swing, but Dist. Atty. Josh Marquis said he did not believe that the blasts were related to Smith’s visit. Astoria, a town of about 10,000, is about 75 miles northwest of Portland.