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Drano bomb set off in neighborhood

By Jon Johnson
Assistant Editor
Published on Tuesday, November 3, 2009 12:15 PM MST

Police are looking for a suspect who set off a Drano bomb in a neighborhood Monday afternoon.

Officers responded to the 100 block of west Main Street at about 3:40 p.m. after a man called in reference to a loud bang.

The man told officers his grandchildren were playing outside when he heard the bang. The children said a white male set a bottle on the street and left the area.

Officer Jeremiah French located a plastic Coke bottle with a large hole in its side and recognized it as a Drano bomb. The bombs are made when the mixture of Drano, water and several loosely rolled up balls of aluminum foil create a reaction in a sealed bottle.

Depending on the speed of the reaction, Drano bombs can cause a plastic bottle to explode within two seconds if shaken or take about 30 seconds if not. They are unpredictable and have caused serious injuries due to the force of the eruption and the caustic chemicals. Youths in New York City were recently burned by a Drano bomb when a suspect threw one off a rooftop.

Safford Police Chief John Griffin said Drano bombs are dangerous and a stupid thing to make, especially in a neighborhood where children are playing.

Police gathered the remaining components of the bomb and fingerprinted it. If anyone has information about the bomb call the Safford Police Department at 348-3190.

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Comments

30 comment(s)

disgusted wrote on Nov 7, 2009 8:40 PM:

" Wow. Amazing how I just had to type "bottle bomb" and all kinds of recipes popped up online for making drano bombs among many other types of bombs. Anyone can get any info they want online, the trick is to teach your kids right from wrong. Don't blame the author...how about the parents?
For example, just today the 17 year old kid across the street set a drano bomb off in the middle of the street in broad daylight. We called the cops, they saw the evidence, talked to the mom and all acted like it was "no big deal". "

Silence Dogood wrote on Nov 6, 2009 7:30 AM:

" I agree with most everything posted so far. But I believe the point to be made against some explicit descriptions in a newspaper like this is that not every kid out there has even thought about making a bomb, but even in my old age, the article got me curious about making one just for the fun of it. If I hadn't of read how easy it was, I would have just told myself that I wasn't brave enough to try it. Why not let's just remind our kids about all the things they should stay away from? "

Well wrote on Nov 5, 2009 10:47 AM:

" If your kids are like mine, they like to go to the library. Guess what is at the library besides books, that's right, computers with Internet. Ultimately it is up to the parents to teach children how to behave because they will find all sorts of interesting stuff they could do from the Internet. It is a great tool but can also be a recipe for disaster to those who are not well behaved. "

Just Me wrote on Nov 5, 2009 10:44 AM:

" To John, How is reporting on the Drano bomb "making" news and not reporting. Is the reporter the one who made the bomb or what? You make no sense!
P.S.
You write like a 13-year-old girl texts. "

LocalGal wrote on Nov 5, 2009 9:00 AM:

" Duhh and Get a Clue, are you guys related or are you the same person? Can you not see that most of the original complaints about this were written BEFORE the printed paper was out? And yes, when I wrote about my grandkids it was after the paper was out, however I was responding to comments made on about my original post. I'm through explaining myself to you guys because I think you just like to argue about anything, just to contribute chaos to a topic. "

Non-Sequitur wrote on Nov 5, 2009 8:29 AM:

" The fact remains that these children do have access to the internet, If not at home then at their friend’s houses. The internet is rife with bomb making instructions. The Courier is only doing their job in reporting the news. These children are not interested in reading the news; there are things much more entertaining that they are looking at that doesn't require reading. "

Silence Dogood wrote on Nov 5, 2009 7:41 AM:

" Ok, why not, let's all make one, take it down to the Courier and have a demonstration. They'll have an awesome photo opportunity and we can educate our kids in supervised fashion so they don't blow themselves up in their own backyards. How bout it Jon? I took the blogs advice and wow, you bet, we can find out how to expertly produce these little HED's(homemade explosive devices) and potato canons and all sorts of others. Thanks Courier for the inspiring story. I'm on my way now to the grocery store. "

john wrote on Nov 5, 2009 7:23 AM:

" jon u should quit posting ur own blogs on the web. only u would defend ur self. remember print news not make news. the paper must be CNN only half the story and on top made up by staff, no truth!!!! tell the world jon how to make another type of bomb "

Duhh wrote on Nov 4, 2009 11:28 PM:

" You're just digging yourself deeper. What part of this wasn't even in the printed edition do you not understand? "

TO Duhh wrote on Nov 4, 2009 10:09 PM:

" I should have made my statement more clear that I was referring to people who read the paper printed paper w/out internet access will now know how to make the bomb. Gosh you have no clue do you? "

Get A Clue wrote on Nov 4, 2009 7:13 PM:

" First of all, it's "Karma" and to LocalGal, your previous comment about your kids reading it in the newspaper is listed at 11:05 on Wednesday, long after the paper came out. There are lots of stories on the Internet that don't make the paper. They probably just didn't have any room is my guess. "

LocalGal wrote on Nov 4, 2009 4:28 PM:

" To Get a Clue: The information came out before the newspaper was printed. My original comment was written then as well. Did you stop to think that maybe complaints like mine possibly helped the newspaper staff to rethink the issue and not carry the article over to the printed version? If what I and a few others have said had any thing at all to do with the iinformation not going into the printed version then I applaud the Courier for recognizing and dealing well with our concerns. "

Norm wrote on Nov 4, 2009 3:20 PM:

" I thank ye for the Bomb-makin' Instructions!
Not that I have any interest but, I reckon,
now, this sort of thing will become real common. "

Get a clue wrote on Nov 4, 2009 1:36 PM:

" To LocalGal, well I guess your grandchildren will never see it because it was only on the Internet and not in the printed newspaper. Get a clue! "

john wrote on Nov 4, 2009 12:43 PM:

" jon u took another story and made a bad choice for this print bad bad bad bad carma!!!!!!!!!! the paper is a joke. u need to print news not make news "

LocalGal wrote on Nov 4, 2009 11:05 AM:

" First of all, I am not a moron. Secondly, it won't be my kids making them, so it will not be my liability. But it could be one of my grandkids who might get injured because a curious kid (doesn't even have to be a BAD kid) decides to see if throwing those ingredients together really works. My grandkids can read a newspaper, but they don't have internet access to that info. My concern is genuine and valid, so keep your insults to yourselves. "

Managing Editor Aimee Staten wrote on Nov 4, 2009 9:50 AM:

" Please refrain from name-calling when writing your comments. If the words "idiot," "stupid," "dumb" or any other insults are used, the comments cannot be approved. "

WTF wrote on Nov 4, 2009 1:17 AM:

" I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU TOLD THE INGREDIENTS? "

Junior wrote on Nov 3, 2009 11:00 PM:

" Obviously, we already know how to make one. "

Duhh wrote on Nov 3, 2009 10:59 PM:

" This article doesn't describe how to make a Drano bomb, it merely lists some of the ingredients. Now if I start to type Drano in my google bar, the first option it gives me is for a Drano bomb and that will tell me step by step instructions how to make one. You people seriously have no clue. "

Duhh wrote on Nov 3, 2009 10:56 PM:

" To AZ, you are on the Internet. This was posted on the Courier's Web site. This is not the print newspaper. You really don't have a clue do you? "

AZ wrote on Nov 3, 2009 7:11 PM:

" Tho anyone who has access to the internet can look up how to make one of these :drano bombs", now anyone reading this section has even easier access. Some things should be edited out of a public paper. Because really those w/out internet can now make one just by reading this. "

Out south wrote on Nov 3, 2009 6:12 PM:

" There were quite a few explosions out south lately in the area of Lebanon Road. Wonder if this is where theyre workshop is? "

Give Me A Break wrote on Nov 3, 2009 4:45 PM:

" LocalGal wrote "who will be to blame when kids in the Gila Valley experiment with these and get injured (or killed) because they don't get rid of it fast enough? I sure wouldn't want that liability."
If you are their parent you will have "that liability." Come on people take some responsibility for your own kids already! "

b-rad wrote on Nov 3, 2009 2:13 PM:

" I hope you are prepared for your share of the blame for every kid that reads this in the paper and tries to make one. Why not add the recipe for meth, instructions for pipe bombs and how to enrich plutonium in your basement. "

Matt wrote on Nov 3, 2009 1:49 PM:

" Idle hands..the devil's workshop.
That's what some people choose to do with their time? That's scary..
How to make a nuclear weapon is in the internet. Doesn't mean you have to make one.
Think you're smart?
Find a cure for cancer; leave the Drano under the sink, where it belongs. "

LocalGal wrote on Nov 3, 2009 12:56 PM:

" I agree with the first two posts. You told everyone how to make this kind of bomb. And if it can explode in that short a time frame, who will be to blame when kids in the Gila Valley experiment with these and get injured (or killed) because they don't get rid of it fast enough? I sure wouldn't want that liability. "

Non-Sequitur wrote on Nov 3, 2009 12:45 PM:

" Unfortunately with the ease and access to the internet a "drano bomb" is probably one of the more benign weapons that children can make from plans that are as easy to find as the use of a search engine. "

wdw wrote on Nov 3, 2009 12:40 PM:

" wow now everyone knows how to make it! thanks courier "

responsible wrote on Nov 3, 2009 12:34 PM:

" do you feel it is responsible to report how to make a bomb. Cant you tell the story without giving the ingredients? "

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