Elk Grove police searching for suspect blowing up trash can: "It shook the entire house"
ELK GROVE - The search is intensifying for a suspect blowing up trash bins in an Elk Grove neighborhood.
It all started when police responded to a call for an explosion in the bathroom at Jones Park. People in the area said it blew a bathroom stall door right off its hinges.
But what ultimately led officers to a potential suspect was actually a second explosion the next day caught on home security cameras, just about half a mile away.
"It shook the entire house. We were really confused, we'd never heard anything like that," nearby resident Anthony Harris said.
Residents in Elk Grove are on their toes, not knowing if or when the suspect could strike again.
"Scary for sure. You don't know when the next explosions are going to be. You don't know where it's going to be," Harris said.
The suspect, a male, is linked to two incidents involving explosive devices that police say are high-grade illegal fireworks.
Police said he first set off an explosive in the Jones Park bathroom, the next day he set one off in a trash can in front of someone's house about a half mile away from the park.
"We were watching TV, boom. I turned to my wife and said, 'That wasn't a gunshot and it wasn't an M80,'" says neighbor Mike Derdowski.
"The garbage can was knocked over, the wheels even flew off," neighbor Cristina Sierra said.
"Explosive devices are very serious felonies, not something to play around with," Derdowski said.
"It makes you wonder how does someone even obtain that and also what's going through their mind. Why do you want to set that in trash cans and hurt someone, why would you want to do that?" Harris said.
The person whose trash can was blown up said when she went outside to check what the noise was, she was shocked to see her trash can on fire. She said the city is giving her a new one on Monday.
Elk Grove Police Department said this is still an active investigation and anyone with information should give them a call.