Counter-terrorism Responses

I'm writing a story where the main character is being targeted by a series of antagonists, one of whom is a mad bomber. The bomber attacks his school, but the main character survives.

What level of government/law enforcement handles bomb threats? Would that be the FBI, the CIA, Homeland Security, or a combination?

Say the main character is sent to the hospital, would an FBI agent be sent to question him? If there was reason to suspect that he was the intended target, would he be under police protection, or anything higher?

edited 5th Feb '14 2:41:18 PM by FOFD

It's complicated. For a large-scale crime like a mass killing, multiple agencies share jurisdiction, with each one fulfilling a pre-specified role. The local police would likely be responsible for securing the bomb-site and managing the students/survivors, but the FBI would lead the investigation, while including the other agencies as partners. Most likely a team of investigators would arrive at the hospital, including Federal, state and local detectives.

Initial response will be handled by local police. The FBI keeps close tabs on bombings, but depending on the scale of the attempt,the number of casualties, the likelihood the crime was committed across state lines, and whether it's clear the bombing was an act of terrorism or a targeted assassination may either assume the lead in the investigation or simply keep tabs and offer advice. The Bureau of Alchohol, Tobacco, and Firearms will turn up and may similarly just keep tabs on things or for larger bombs take an active role on the forensics and investigation, though their interest is purely in how the explosive was acquired and assembled. Depending on the delivery mechanism other federal agencies may be involved; if it was shipped as a package through the mail, for example, the Postal Service has its own investigative arm for tracking it back to the source.

If someone was suspected to be the target of a bombing it's likely they would be offered protective custody after the first (or maybe not, for something like a letterbomb) and after the second or third would probably be placed there regardless because of the threat to anyone who happens to wander by. Much will depend on the perceived likelihood of a second attempt, which might be lower than you think: trying twice increases your chance of getting caught exponentially.

edited 5th Feb '14 4:44:48 PM by Night