Teen arrested after bomb explodes at Menlo Park school

A spokeswoman for the Menlo Park Police Department said the device detonated in the school field was possibly a pipe bomb. "The juvenile said he got the materials from a local hardware store," she said.

MENLO PARK, California (San Jose Mercury News) June 17, 2010 -- A 17-year-old boy was arrested late Wednesday night on suspicion of detonating an explosive device near La Entrada Middle School in Menlo Park, California police said.

Neighbors called police to report hearing a loud explosion in the Sharon Heights neighborhood at about 10:10 p.m.

The teenager was found near the middle school soon after the explosion, and he admitted to detonating a homemade bomb in the grass field directly behind the school, police said.

A spokeswoman for the Menlo Park Police Department said the device was possibly a pipe bomb. "The juvenile said he got the materials from a local hardware store," the spokeswoman said.

No injuries or substantial property damage were reported, according to police.

The teenager was arrested on suspicion of possessing and detonating an explosive device and cited before being released to his parents, the spokesman said.

She described the teenager as cooperative. "He led investigators to believe that he wasn't trying to cause harm to anybody or any property," she said. "That's why he chose that particular time and place to do it."

Link: http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15322232?nclick_check=1

Source: DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report