Students arrested for homemade bomb at high school

Two Carson City teens were arrested Tuesday after allegedly setting off a soda bottle filled with an explosive liquid in a trash can at Carson High School.

Lt. Ken Sandage said the 16-year-old boys discussed and prepared for the incident the previous evening in an attempt to get released early from school.

According to police reports, the "bomb" went off about 7:45 a.m. in Senator Square inside Carson High School.

Witnesses reported hearing a "pop or a bang," seeing white smoke and smelling sulfur immediately after the bottle exploded. A girl standing near the explosion was hit with the liquid and had to have her eyes flushed out with water by the school nurse, said Mike Mitchell director of operations for the Carson City School District.

Sandage said school officials cleaned up the remains of a Dr. Pepper bottle, hydrochloric acid and tin foil, then contacted police. When a deputy was shown the items 15 minutes later, they were still emitting smoke, the report states.

A review of surveillance cameras in the school, allegedly showed the two students who were arrested walking near the trash can and one of them putting a bottle into it. About 10 seconds later, the contents exploded.

Sandage said that when the boys were questioned they allegedly admitted their involvement and motive. Both were booked into juvenile jail on a charge of possessing an explosive device on school grounds.

On the popular Internet site youtube.com there are several videos which show teens detonating the same type of homemade explosive. It's unknown where the Carson students got the idea.

It doesn't appear this incident is related to two others in recent months on Spear Street and near Hells Bells Road. Also this past summer, a similar device was left under a vehicle in the parking lot of the Quail Run Shopping Center. No injuries were reported in any of those previous bombings.

• Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.