Breaking - FOX News Reports Mail Box Explosion in Spokane Washington

That is per FOX News Channel with Sheriff on the line!

61 posted on 05/09/2002 12:56:07 PM PDT by MeekOneGOP

Intent not intended to hurt anyone, just chemical bomb to destroy the mailbox.

What happen to the old days when kids use baseball bats to destroy a malibox???

62 posted on 05/09/2002 12:56:57 PM PDT by Mo1

I'm not going to say that Spokane is a boring town, but many years ago a C&W performerer wrote a song titled "I spent a week last night in a Motel in Spokane". We report, you decide.

On the plus side, Spokane has some of the very best municipal golf courses in the country, if not the best.

63 posted on 05/09/2002 12:57:17 PM PDT by connectthedots

LOL... I just called my brother-in-law in Colbert to warn him about checking the mail... he had just gotten out of the shower and hadn't heard about it yet.

64 posted on 05/09/2002 12:57:18 PM PDT by PrivateIdaho

65 posted on 05/09/2002 12:57:52 PM PDT by July 4th

Thanks for the link now my next question is .. what the hell is wrong with people these days??

Rousseau published.

66 posted on 05/09/2002 12:58:20 PM PDT by KC Burke

67 posted on 05/09/2002 12:58:22 PM PDT by KSCITYBOY

LIke are we supposed to sneak up on our mailboxes. How does one exercise caution in approaching mailbox? I predict a group of hysterical women will now be calling the cops cause their mailboxes look peculiar. What would make us suspicious while we slink up to the box in camaflage?

68 posted on 05/09/2002 12:58:24 PM PDT by cajungirl

Crap. My sister and brother-in-law live there.

Kids doing malicious damage. See #59.........

69 posted on 05/09/2002 12:59:14 PM PDT by MeekOneGOP

I call the cops whenever my mailbox looks at me funny. I don't take no crap from my mailbox.

70 posted on 05/09/2002 1:00:03 PM PDT by wimpycat

you mean, back when you could buy an M80...

71 posted on 05/09/2002 1:00:35 PM PDT by CJ Wolf

By Associated Press

May 9, 2002, 3:46 PM EDT

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Three small bombs have exploded in mailboxes in northern parts of Spokane County, the U.S. Postal Service said Thursday.

There have been no injuries and postal inspectors believe the bombs are pranks, said Dennis Larson, a postal inspector in Spokane.

"What they are bombs created by placing caustic substances in aluminum foil and other liquids in plastic soft drink bottles," Larson said.

"Chemical reactions cause the bottle to rupture," he said.

The three bombs reported so far have all been along one mail route in northern Spokane County.

The incidents do not seem as serious as the string of pipe bombings earlier this week in the Midwest, Larson said.

One of the bombs was discovered on Monday and two more Wednesday, he said.

72 posted on 05/09/2002 1:00:52 PM PDT by Dallas

73 posted on 05/09/2002 1:04:46 PM PDT by eabinga

Copycat at work, I think......

Calling the FBI. Cleanup needed on aisle 7.

74 posted on 05/09/2002 1:04:47 PM PDT by Mad_Tom_Rackham

Remember a few weeks ago, Arab terrorists threatened to go into our Heartland and do damage? That's the first thing I thought of that first day when pipe bombs were found in Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, etc.

Radio top o' the news just reported facts that are on this thread. FreeRepublic always gets a headstart on breaking news!!!

75 posted on 05/09/2002 1:05:05 PM PDT by Geezerette

What happen to the old days when kids use baseball bats to destroy a malibox???

They still do. It happened to me about three weeks ago.

76 posted on 05/09/2002 1:06:40 PM PDT by Dog Gone

....in the Seattle area..

This is one of the main camps of the Far Left Nutcase Brigade.

77 posted on 05/09/2002 1:07:20 PM PDT by Mad_Tom_Rackham

Sorry about your mailbox ...

Maybe it was a bad joke .. Sorry

78 posted on 05/09/2002 1:08:26 PM PDT by Mo1

From the New Mexico Emergency Preparedness Web

Term: Caustic bombs
Catagory: Conventional Explosives
Definition: Alkali based devices mixed with water and luminum foil. The most common ingredient is sodium hydroxide, a corrosive in both liquid and solid forms that can immerdiately cause serious burns to skin on contact. Comercial sources of sodium.

AKA *Macgyver bombs.* Frequently use a 2-liter pop bottle as the pressure vessel, just the right size to slip inside a large rural mailbox.

Police find ‘MacGyver’ bombs

By JOSEPH SWAVY

State News Staff Writer

Bottle bombs, homemade explosive devices, have been found detonated in Holden Hall four times since Nov. 5. No one has been injured in the blasts, but potential for major injury or death exists, authorities warn.

The devices are commonly called “MacGyver bombs,” because the Richard Dean Anderson character constructed one on the show, police said.

The bombs are made by mixing household chemicals with tin foil in a sealed bottle.

“The idea is to have a chemical mix that builds up pressure until it explodes,” said East Lansing police Capt. Stephen Chubb. “We have had them over the years, but the last one was probably a year ago.”

The bottles do not use fuses, so there is no way to know when they will burst. It depends on the chemical reaction within the bottle, Chubb said.

“They self-detonate, and that is one of the problems, because they are so unpredictable,” he said. “It is different with every time, depending on the quantities, mixtures and temperatures.”

When the device explodes, the bottle is shattered and the chemicals are thrown outward. The bottle pieces can cause injuries and the chemicals can cause burns, Chubb said.

“The chemicals are usually in a plastic bottle, but the last few have been in glass bottles,” said MSU police Lt. Dale Metts. “That can be deadly.”

Chubb said the only injuries he can recall involve an East Lansing high school student who was close to a bottle bomb when it exploded. The student sustained chemical burns after he was splashed with residue, but he did not require immediate medical attention.

East Lansing Fire Marshall Gary Waterman said the city hasn’t had a major problem with the devices.

“It seems like they were more prevalent a year ago,” he said. “Typically, the problem is kids putting them in mail boxes in rural areas.”

People who make or detonate the devices can be charged with a variety of crimes, depending on the magnitude of the explosion and the size of the device, Chubb said.

One possible charge, manufacturing with unlawful intent, is a felony punishable with no less than two years and no more than five years in prison. Offenders also could be charged with disorderly conduct, malicious destruction of property, or felonious assault, Chubb said.

79 posted on 05/09/2002 1:08:51 PM PDT by archy

Now THAT's A SHOWER!

80 posted on 05/09/2002 1:09:44 PM PDT by Mad_Tom_Rackham

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