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Electric razors that had been rigged with explosives blew up in the faces of two men, wounding both. Federal and local investigators urged shoppers to be careful when buying electric razors, and to call authorities if they see a razor left in a public place.
There is a very strong possibility that there are other razors out there. The razors were similarly rigged. Whoever tampered with them replaced wires, took out batteries and put gunpowder in the razors. The two explosions happened about seven months apart.
In the first incident, on March 27, Hosea Crumpler of Troy, NY found what appeared to be a new razor in a black case in a McDonald’s restroom, police said. When Crumpler plugged it in at home, the razor blew up, wounding his face, neck, chest, torso and both hands.
“It was a pretty significant explosion,” Capt. Jack Mahar said. “A piece of shrapnel also hit his wife in the face and almost his daughter. Someone put it in the restroom waiting for someone else to find it.”
On Oct. 12, James Burdick, 44, tried to use a different brand razor that his wife bought at a Price Chopper store in Bennington, Vt., 30 miles from Troy. The razor exploded when it was plugged in at his home. Burdick suffered minor injuries, mostly burns and cuts. Police said whoever rigged the razor may have planted it in the Vermont store as the store does not carry that brand of razor. The ATF concluded that the razor was converted to an improvised explosive device.
The explosive devices were powerful enough to kill the men. For a picture visit: http://www.police1.com/pix/razor.jpg
Source: AP; ATF