'MacGyver-Type' Bombs Found In Suburban Roadway
CARPENTERSVILLE (STMW) - Construction workers discovered six "MacGyver-type bombs" Monday morning along a residential street in northwest suburban Carpentersville.
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One of the devices exploded before authorities arrived, but no one was hurt and there was no damage from the relatively minor device, according to police. Members of the Kane County Bomb Squad were called and safely detonated the five other devices.
Police responded about 8:15 a.m. to an under-construction subdivision at Brighton and Lexington lanes in Carpentersville after a construction crew discovered numerous "MacGyver-type bombs," Carpentersville police Cmdr. Michael Kilbourne said.
"They were out in the open on the roadway and just off the roadway," he said.
He described the devices as plastic bottles filled with common household items that create a chemical reaction filling the bottles with gases which can potentially explode. The devices have no trigger, the commander said.
The devices appeared to be left in the area overnight and did not explode, Kilbourne said.
No injuries were reported. The closest residence is a home still under construction, which was not damaged.
Given their location and the type of materials used, Kilbourne said, the potential damage the devices could have caused if they had exploded was limited.
"Unless you're standing on top of it and you get hit by the chemicals inside of it, there's really limited risk of injury or damage," he said. "Really, in their case, the only way you could damage or injure anyone is if it was placed in an enclosed space and then the limited expansion could then damage that area."
Kilbourne said there have not been any similar incidents in recent months and police are still investigating who put the devices in the area.
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