Two homemade devices explode in driveway

Oregon State Police bomb technicians were called in late Tuesday night to disable one of three homemade chemical-reaction explosive devices after two others blew up in the driveway of a home north of Prineville, authorities said.

Around 10:20 p.m., Crook County sheriff’s deputies and Crook County Fire and Rescue were dispatched to a home on NW McDougal Court on a report that someone had thrown a device in the caller’s driveway that exploded, said Sgt. James Savage. They also said a second device may have been thrown somewhere in the area.

Deputies found evidence that two of the homemade chemical-reaction devices had exploded, making very loud noises, Savage said. There was minimal damage and no injuries.

A third device was found in the street, not far from where the first two were thrown, Savage said. It had failed to go off, but because it was a chemical-reaction device, it can take time for it to occur, Savage said.

Deputies secured the street, a dead-end cul-de-sac, and kept everyone in their homes until the OSP bomb techs responded and disabled the device.

Savage described the devices as “a variation of household chemicals that somebody figured out makes a big boom. It would taken an arm or leg off if it was handled when it goes off. They are a dry ice bomb on steroids.”

No arrests have been made, Savage said, but the case remains under investigation.

“These chemical reaction devices are homemade and may look like an ordinary drinking container, but will put off chemical odor, and a chemical reaction can be seen,” Savage wrote in a news release.

“The devices are very dangerous and should not be handled,” he said. “The public is reminded not to touch any suspicious devices and to stay clear if one is located and call 911.”