The wave of recent incidents involving pipe bombs, you’ll read below, can serve as a life-saving reminder to take extreme caution if you think you may have spotted a suspected explosive. Remember, these seemingly small weapons can cause severe, if not deadly, damage. The best way to handle a suspected pipe bomb? Secure the area, call the bomb squad and above all, don’t pick it up!
-- Scott Buhrmaster, Contributing Editor
Two Arrested in Idaho Falls Pipe Bomb Incident
The Associated Press
Idaho Falls, Idaho (AP) -- Two teenagers have been arrested for making the pipe bomb that exploded on Tuesday in a rural neighborhood when bomb experts tried to dismantle it.
Police said Steven Beau Winn, 18, and Dustin Catlin, 18, both of Idaho Falls, were booked on charges of manufacturing and possessing an explosive device after they were taken into custody about six hours after the detonation.
Idaho Falls Police Sgt. Steve Hunt said there was no indication the bomb was built to harm anyone, but state law prohibits possession or manufacture of explosives without special authorization.
Investigators said the pair told them they built the bomb -- an 18-inch long pipe about two inches in diameter stuffed with explosive powder -- to detonate it at the sand dunes near St. Anthony.
But the device fell out of their truck while they were headed to the dunes late Monday night. When they tried to turn around to retrieve it, they were pulled over by a sheriff’s deputy for failure to display proper license plates.
The bomb was discovered in the road of the rural neighborhood on the south side of Idaho Falls early Tuesday and a bomb team from the Tooele Army Base in Utah was called in. The experts moved the device to a wheat field where it exploded as the technicians tried to remove the end caps.
No one was injured.
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Police Probe Trash Can Explosion
Pittsfield, Mass. (AP) -- Police on Wednesday were investigating an explosion that went off inside a trash can behind Taconic High School.
No injuries were reported after the morning blast, but the school was evacuated and students were sent home, police said.
The explosion of the pipe bomb-like device broke a window, police said.
Capt. Patrick Barry told The Berkshire Eagle that investigators interviewed a “person of interest,” who was described as a disgruntled student who had been barred from Tuesday night’s prom.
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ATF Investigates Possible Explosion Under Parked Car
BALTIMORE (AP) -- A pipe bomb exploded near a parked car in northeast Baltimore early Tuesday, closing a major rush hour artery, city police said.
No one was injured but the 1994 Ford Ranger was heavily damaged, police spokesman Troy Harris said. The explosive device went off at about 5:30 a.m. in the 3200 block of Taylor Ave., he said.
Initially, the Baltimore Fire Department was called to investigate a suspected car fire, said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spokeswoman Kelly Long. But firefighters called the arson and explosives unit when they saw that it was an explosion, she said.
Investigators were still trying to determine if the explosion was caused by a device or if the car exploded on its own, Long said.
ATF agents remained on the scene Tuesday afternoon, she said, but once the on-scene investigation is complete, the truck will be towed to the ATF national lab in Ammendale.
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Pipe Bombs Left In Southwest Colorado Mailboxes
Cortez, Colo. (AP) -- Several pipe bombs have been left in mailboxes in southwest Colorado in the past few weeks, authorities say.
According to the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office, five bombs were found in mailboxes in the rural Dolores area between May 24 and May 27. The cases, being investigated as vandalism, are thought to be related.
“We think it’s the same person or group,” Sheriff Joey Chavez said last week.
The bombs were described as steel pipes anywhere from 2 inches to 3.5 inches long and a half-inch in diameter. They were believed to contain gunpowder.
“Right now, we don’t think it’s anything to do with retaliation against anyone,” Chavez said. “They’re just randomly placing them in mailboxes.”
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Police Investigate Possible Homemade Bomb; Teenager Hurt
Ware, Mass. (AP) -- A teenager was treated for injuries that may have been caused by a homemade bomb Thursday in this western Massachusetts town.
The state police bomb squad investigated at a multifamily home after the teenager was injured, authorities said.
“We’re positive there is some type of homemade-type of device, possibly incendiary in nature,” Police Chief Dennis Healey said.
There was no immediate information on the teenager’s injuries or identity.
Police responded to the West Main Street home near downtown around 4 p.m. Several homes were evacuated and traffic was routed away from the location.
There were no immediate arrests, police said.
State Fire Marshal Stephan D. Coan said authorities were investigating.
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Montreal-Area Family Home Rocked By Two Pipe-Bomb Blasts This Spring
The Montreal Gazette
MONTREAL -- For the second time in two months, a computer scientist and his family were rocked by a pipe-bomb blast that damaged their two-storey home near the city on Wednesday.
The man, who wouldn’t give his name, met journalists in front of the home in Laval, Que., and struggled to understand why someone would plant the two bombs in his garden.
Police launched an investigation and interviewed the family, but have no suspects.
“I don’t know why this is happening. I don’t know,” said the owner, adding no threats or notes were delivered.
The small explosive that detonated on Wednesday was placed in the front garden, under the kitchen window and against the home’s concrete foundation.
It blew up just after midnight, smashing the window pane and spewing mud over the lawn and asphalt. By the time the owner came outside, the street was empty.
“The second time we recognized the bang,” he said, “because we had already heard the first.”
The first blast occurred on March 25, also at the front of the house.
He said his family, which includes two sons in their early 20s, don’t cause any trouble.
“It’s a quiet neighbourhood,” he noted, gesturing toward the rows of modest, attractive homes bordered by well-kept gardens.
“There are never any problems here.”
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Explosive Left At Oregon Forest Office
John Day, Oregon (AP) -- The U.S. Forest Service is investigating the discovery of a small incendiary device found in the parking lot outside a Malheur National Forest office.
A John Day police officer found the device, described as about the size of a tennis ball and designed to ignite or burst on impact, on Monday night outside a building rented by the Forest Service.
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Explosive Devices Found Under Penn. Bridge
WPXI TV News-Pittsburgh
TARENTUM, Pa. -- The Allegheny County Bomb Squad was called to the Tarentum Bridge around 8 p.m. Monday after explosive devices were found.
A boater told investigators he found a suspicious item in the mud off the banks of the Allegheny River.
Tarentum police said they found four pipe bombs and components to make an explosive device.
However, the pieces were not assembled.
The device caused quite a scare for boaters.
Boater Renee Crynack said, “We started to pull into the launch ramp and a man started screaming at us at the top of his lungs to get away from the marina -- to get away, back up (and) move. (They) wouldn’t let us out.”
Right now, police don’t believe the bridge was a target.
No arrests have been made.
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Bomb Targets New Fairfield High School Principal
(WTNH, TV News - New Fairfield, Conn.) -- Extra security is now in place at Fairfield High School. The principal is getting extra protections after a homemade bomb was found in her driveway.
The pranks around school started last month with flat tires on about two dozen school busses. Twenty students got suspended for that and some students say they think Friday nights fire bombing may have been retaliation.
Sgt. J Paul Vance says, “The incendiary device that was recovered at the principal’s home was seized by state police investigators that responded to the scene. The device was made safe by State Police bomb technicians.”
They say it was a ‘Molotov Cocktail’ tossed in the driveway of Alicia Roy, The principal of New Fairfield High. Her school has seen a series of pranks starting with letting the air out of school bus tires four Fridays ago.
Interim Superintendent Dr. Robert Goldman says, “Following that we had a bomb scare on a Friday, and school was dismissed and students were sent home.”
The next Friday, another bomb threat at the school. A week later, the bomb in the driveway. School officials want to know who is behind it.
Brian Simonitsch says, “No one knows. Whoever is doing it is keeping it very low key because no one has heard any names of who is responsible.”
Amanda Rubino says, “Everyone thinks it is the freshman. A lot of us think it’s the seniors. So we don’t really know.”
There have been other incidents at Principal Roy’s home. Eggs were thrown at the house and you can still see the damage done to the mailbox. The question is why her?
“I was suspended because I was one of the kids that let the air out of the bus tires and there were only six kids there and I don’t think that over 20 kids should have got punished for it,” says Joseph Fortunato.
Joe Fortunato thinks Miss Roy is being targeted because of her discipline.
“It’s gone way too far but I think Miss Roy is sort of escalating this herself. I think she could just stop it if she wants to. It’s just the way she treats people,” says Fortunato.
“She is determined that no one is going to take her school from her,” says Dr. Goldman.
The Superintendent is not saying there is any connection between the pranks with the buses, the bomb threats and the bomb in the principal’s driveway. Principal Roy did not want to talk but she did issue a press release urging parents to talk to their kids and find out if they know who’s responsible.
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‘Bomb’ found at outlet center; Mystery device in soda machine is safely defused
By Luis Hernandez, The Tulare Advance-Register (Tulare County, Calif.)
Tulare firefighters and police officers and Tulare County Sheriff’s Department bomb-squad members respond Monday to a call about a possible explosive device at the Horizon Outlet Center.
The discovery of what appeared to be an explosive device in a Horizon Outlet Factory Center soda machine prompted authorities to shut down several stores for two hours Monday afternoon.
Police said the device, described as a metal pipe with a fuse, tumbled out of the machine after a thirsty shopper attempted to purchase a soda. Tulare police Sgt. Ruben Morales said it’s unknown how long the device, disassembled by the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad, had been in the machine.
As a precaution, authorities placed yellow tape around all 12 soda machines at the outlet center and closed at least a dozen stores, including Reebok, Zales Jewelry and Dress Barn.
“We wanted to make sure everybody was safe,” Tulare police Sgt. Bryan Moore said.
As police, firefighters and sheriff’s deputies went to work, outlet employees gathered by the center’s fountain or looked for shady spots. Shoppers, however, seemed unfazed by the goings on or the presence of police, patronizing open businesses and, at times, walking alongside the police tape.
Horizon Outlet Center General Manager Patty Rocha said the shopper who discovered the device told a maintenance worker, who immediately alerted police.
“We follow procedure,” she said.
Moore said the Sheriff’s Department’s bomb squad was called out to handle the device. The Fire Department kept an engine on scene.
Morales said it’s unknown at this point whether the device was capable of exploding. Bomb-squad officials will prepare a report for the Police Department, he said.
“We’re going to handle this investigation as if it was a bomb, whether it was or not,” he said.
