March 25, 2008 11:08 am

Cut and paste version of story Photos Lawrence Fire Capt. Bill Lannon holds a Powerade bottle that was used for a bottle bomb by three teens who learned how to make the device on the Internet. Staff photo

Teens use YouTube recipe to make bottle bombs

A string of recent bottle bomb explosions has been puzzling Lawrence police but the answer may rest in the homemade bomb activities of three 13-year-old boys.

By Jim Patten
CNHI News Service

LAWRENCE, Mass. — Three 13-year-old boys have been making plastic bottle bombs for several weeks from a recipe they found on the Internet site YouTube, endangering themselves and others in the city, police reported Tuesday.
The unsafe practice came to light last Friday when a device exploded in the hands of one of the youths, spewing sulfuric acid on his face and requiring hospital treatment. Police were notified by officials at the boy's school.
Police Chief John Romero said the boys, all students at Henry K. Oliver School Public School, made so many of the bottle bombs that they can't remember where they set them all off or whether they were the source of two recent local explosions.
"It's no joke," said Romero. "They've done so many in the area they don't know where they all were."
Police said the boys learned how to make the bombs on a YouTube site. They said the youths would be charged in jurvenile court with illegal possession of an explosive device. They were not identified because they are minors.
The boy who suffered facial injuries told school officials he was holding the bottle at arms' length when it exploded.
Fire Capt. William Lannon, who helped investigate the incident, said the boy's injuries did not appear to be serious. But, he added, if the sulfuric acid had gone into his eyes, "he'd definitely have had some long-term serious problems."
That boy admitted to making the bomb so he could throw it at a girl's house, police said.
Lannon said the youths combined two common household cleaners in plastic bottles. This, he said, created intense pressure within the bottle, causing an explosion upon impact. He said the boys tailored the recipe for bigger explosions and then combined the ingredients in thick, plastic Gatorade bottles to amplify detonation.
Lannon said the bottle bombs most often make a big noise when they explode, but when placed in a confined space, such as a mailbox, they can blow up the mailbox.
"That's usually the application we find them in," he said.
Police said they questioned the boys about two bottle bomb incidents that occurred on Feb. 20 at separate locations in Lawrence, but that the boys could not remember if they were involved.
"I don't think they were trying to deceive us," said Romero. "They've done so many they can't say whether they did or didn't do the Feb. 20 bottle bombs."
Romero said the boys had been purchasing the household supplies they use to make the bombs from local stores, and that police would reach out to the stores to tell them what was being done with the products, in hopes that store owners would police themselves and not sell the ingredients to youths unless they were with a parent.

Jim Patten is a reporter for The Eagle-Tribune of North Andover, Mass. Contact him at jpatten@eagletribune.com.