Pressure bombs – plastic bottles filled with Drano, water and tinfoil – have been exploding around Juneau.
Police have received several calls in recent weeks about the homemade bombs found in various places; the remnants of one near the road on Dudley Street just last week. There’ve also been reports of explosions, then pieces of bottle and tinfoil found.
JPD spokeswoman Cindee Brown-Mills says the bombs apparently are easy to make.
“The acids in the Drano react with the tinfoil and cause a vapor so what you’re going to see looks like foggy stuff inside the bottle. And then pressures going to build up and expand the bottle and the bottle’s going to explode. It looks like it happens pretty fast in the video that I watched,” Brown-Mills says. “If they don’t shake it and just leave it and then somebody disturbs it that may cause it to start (blow up).”
Police say the pressure bombs can cause serious injury and even death. That’s due to the unpredictable nature of the explosive time frame and blast pressure, coupled with shrapnel.
Possible indications of the bomb are strips of metal foil inside a plastic soda or water bottle, or a cloudy buildup inside the bottle.
Anyone who finds such bottles should leave them alone and call police. JPD also would like information on the previous incidents. Call Juneau Police at 586-0600 or log onto juneaucrimeline.com.
