Potentially dangerous 'bottle bombs' found on school playground
SCIO, Ore. - Someone detonated a pop bottle bomb on the grounds of an elementary school and left other potentially dangerous improvised explosive devices on campus, raising concerns for this Willamette Valley community.
"The Sheriff and the Fire Department were here helping us work out the safest course of action for your children," Centennial Elementary Principal Luke Zedwick wrote in a letter home to parents Tuesday. "Please know that your students were not in danger, and we took the quickest course of action to deal with the situation in the safest way possible.
"The details and severity of the objects became clear to us only as school was ending," Zedwick wrote. "Sheriff’s Deputies agreed that it was more dangerous for us to set an alarm at that time. The safest course of action was for all students to leave campus as usual. If students are ever in imminent danger, our practice is to take the school into lockdown and contact parents if we need them to pick up their children.
"It seems that over the weekend someone came to our campus to blow up pop bottles and a plastic bucket. One bottle was popped outside our library door and left quite a mess. Later in the day, a bucket was found behind the gym with two pop bottles wrapped in duct tape. We later discovered that a community member had thrown away a similarly duct taped bottle over the weekend. It was found on our playground. The Sheriff and State Police safely dealt with the items, and will be investigating who might have left them.
"Today our staff talked to your children about what to do if they come upon a pop bottle that looks unusual. If it were partially expanded but not ruptured, picking it up could cause it to pop in their hands. The liquid used to create this expansion is caustic and could do serious harm. If children see a bulging or otherwise unusual pop bottle, talk to an adult immediately."
Police in Albany found a plastic bottle bomb in February on an elementary school playground.
Lauren Lee from KVAL News visited Scio on Wednesday to learn more about the incident.
