Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 11, 1995 TAG: 9503130045
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BREEA WILLINGHAM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Roanoke County Fire and Rescue Department responded to a call from Assistant Principal Allen Journell after he heard a loud noise in the back parking lot behind the courtyard about 11:45 a.m.
"I heard the noise and looked around," Journell said. "I saw the green container, and because of past experiences, I knew what it was and called police."
The green container turned out to be a "MacGyver bomb," a hydrochloric acid-based bomb with high explosive strength that is usually set off in yards and mailboxes.
The MacGyver bomb is believed to be named after the television show "MacGyver," in which the title character was notorious for making bombs and other weapons.
No one was injured in the blast.
Assistant Fire Marshal Rodney Ferguson said some components of the bomb found in the boys' bathroom suggest it was thrown from there.
Ferguson said the 16-year-old student was arrested Friday evening.
This is the second MacGyver bomb case this week in the Roanoke Valley. In Vinton, two juveniles were arrested Monday and charged with making three bombs that were set off under a set of stairs. Two were made in 16-ounce bottles, and the other was made in a two-liter bottle.
Officer A.K. Moss of the Vinton Police Department was in the area responding to another call when he heard the bombs explode.
"I heard the screams and thought someone was shot. I pulled up to the curb and pow, another went off. I saw three kids on a porch, and they said the suspects ran around the corner," Moss said.
No one was hurt, and the juveniles were arrested for manufacturing a fire bomb, a felony.
Two years ago, several MacGyver bomb incidents occurred in the Roanoke County school system. Nine students were charged with setting off the bombs.
An educational program was presented to every county high school and junior high school to teach students just how dangerous the bombs can be. The danger was seemingly lost on some students at Northside who shouted jokes about the incident out the windows as fire investigators collected remains of the bomb Friday.
"We held the education program to teach the folks `Hey, these things are dangerous,' because they don't know when the bombs are going to detonate. Those who build them don't know how dangerous they are," Ferguson said.
Journell agreed, adding: "They don't know how dangerous it is. It can go off right away, or an hour later when someone tries to pick it up."
"These things are dangerous," Moss said. "If not a kid getting hurt trying to set it off, then they can hurt someone else."
by CNB