Police Investigating If Bomb Set Off In Target Bathroom Tied To Trans Policy

Officials were investigating whether a small bomb that went off Wednesday in the bathroom of an Illinois Target was planted in response to the store’s policy allowing transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice, WGN reported.

Evanston Police Commander Joe Dugan told WGN that the bathroom was empty when the explosion rattled through the women’s restroom around 4 p.m. and that no one was injured.

Officials were still gathering evidence and reviewing store security camera footage, Dugan said. They’ve determined that the explosive device, which involved a plastic bottle, was homemade.

Target’s recently-implemented policy states that transgender shoppers and staff should feel free to “use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity.”

Conservatives have widely panned the retail chain for this move, which came as states across the South and Midwest passed legislation requiring people use public restrooms that align with their birth sex.

The American Family Association called for a boycott of Target stores and went so far as to “test” the policy by sending men into women’s restrooms.

One man’s protest sparked false alarms of an “active shooter” after he charged through a Bradley, Illinois branch warning that “America is going to hell.”

Elected officials have weighed in on Target’s policy as well.

In a letter to the store, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton urged that the policy be revoked to protect “women and children from those who would use the cover of Target’s restroom policy for nefarious purposes.”