Police warn of homemade explosives

La Porte residents who find plastic soda bottles containing an unidentified liquid should leave them alone, police say. These bottles could be homemade chemical bombs.
Police issued a warning about the devices earlier this month, after the La Porte Fire Marshal's office discovered a bottle with unknown liquid in a grassy field near Sylvan Beach Park.
The investigators found the 12- or 16-ounce bottle during the last week of May while responding to a report of a small fire, police spokesman Lt. John Krueger said.
Two residents taking a morning walk reported the fire and told investigators they also saw a young man near the scene, Krueger said.
A similar incident took place in early February.
In that case, a person walking in a park near Spencer Highway saw two juveniles shake a bottle and set it on or near a bench, Krueger said.
In both cases, the young people ran when the adults approached, Krueger said.
The city fire marshal's office is joining the police department in investigating the incidents, Krueger said in a3 news release.
It is illegal to produce, possess, or use any ... exploding device that is capable of causing significant property damage or bodily injury," Krueger said in the statement.
This type of bomb is made from common household chemicals mixed in plastic bottles. When the plastic bottle is shaken, the reaction causes gas to build up inside the bottle, which explodes under pressure.
The explosion may not happen immediately, so residents should avoid touching plastic bottles found on the street or in their yards, Krueger said.
Although making chemical bombs has become a popular prank, the devices are not harmless and making them can result in criminal charges against the prankster.
Fortunately, Krueger said, the police department and fire marshal's office have members who are trained to deal safely with homemade chemical
bombs.
You can bet we're going to send out well-trained people when we get notified of explosive devices," he said.
We take any notification about explosive devices very seriously."