Breaking via Bay City News/Sfgate.com:

A San Francisco Starbucks is closed this afternoon after police defused a bomb placed in the bathroom.

Police received a call reporting a suspicious package at the coffee house, located at 1401 Van Ness Ave., at 1:15 p.m. The police explosives ordinance unit defused an improvised explosive device, or IED, around 2 p.m., Sgt. Neville Gittens said.

Gittens said he could not comment on the size or type of device found or on its potential explosive capacity. A police investigation is ongoing.

A man working at Sushi Bar Wayo next door to Starbucks said police told him there was a pipe bomb in the coffee house and that he needed to evacuate his restaurant.

Ricardo Frias, a sales representative with Ellis Brooks Auto Center, located adjacent to the Starbucks, said a heavy police presence began at around 1 p.m. He said once the bomb squad arrived on scene an hour later, all auto center employees were directed to stand on the other side of the block-long store for about 30 minutes. He said he heard nothing when the IED was diffused.

At this time, no streets are cordoned off and there is no visible damage to the store, which is on the ground floor of the Inverness Apartments.

Police are continuing to interview people.

***

Just sharing this info, FYI: Bay Area moonbats have quite a history of Starbucks-bashing. See here, here, here, and here. Apparently, they don’t think the left-leaning corporation is guilty enough about its profits or organically pure enough for their caffeine-stained tastebuds.

Whoever it was that left the IED in Starbucks ought to face serious consequences for endangering people’s lives. But it’s the Bay Area. So they won’t.

***

Reader Daniel G. notes of the SF Chronicle’s coverage that it refers vaguely to “vandals” who have “targeted San Francisco Starbucks in the past,” but leaves out who or why.

Once again, left-wing terrorism and violence gets a pass in the MSM. The Chronicle was equally coy when left-wing terrorist groups like ELF exploded devices at Emeryville’s Chiron headquarters. But if a right-wing anti-abortion group placed a pipe bomb at a Planned Parenthood office, you wouldn’t see such vague “vandals” descriptions.

***

Update: A suspect has been arrested.

Update II: 1/12/06

SFChronicle reports… Starbucks ‘bomb’ found to be harmless
Preliminary tests apparently find no explosive material