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Mightier Than the Sword? Exploding Pens Injure at High School

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  • Mightier Than the Sword? Exploding Pens Injure at High School

    An interesting tidbit from the LA Times:

    http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...track=morenews

    TEXT:

    Police Baffled by Booby-Trapped Pens

    Three people have been injured by the exploding devices at high schools in the El Monte district.

    By Jia-Rui Chong, Times Staff Writer

    It seemed like something out of a Looney Tunes episode, but school officials and detectives weren't laughing about the baffling case of the booby-trapped pens.

    Three pens have exploded over the last few months at two high schools in the El Monte Union High School District.

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    The pens, which were lying on the ground in various parts of the schools, detonated when people pulled off the caps. The victims suffered minor burns and scratches on their hands and faces.

    The latest incident occurred about 7:10 a.m. Friday at El Monte High School when a student found a marker in a boys' restroom, took off the cap and watched it explode in his hands.

    On Monday, students were still talking about the incident, with several saying that they were worried about their own safety. Meanwhile, detectives were chasing leads.

    "There was a rumor they were coming from ice cream carts," said Det. Gary Spencer of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's arson and explosives detail.

    "We found pyrotechnics on the ice cream carts, but they didn't have any pens. None of the improvised devices could be traced back to the ice cream carts."

    Spencer, a veteran of the explosives squad, said he's never seen a case quite like this. His theory is that the device was homemade, but he's not sure why someone would want to set the traps.

    "I wouldn't say it's a trick — people are getting injured," he said. "Whether they're doing it for mischief or they intend to injure people — that's something to be determined."

    Nick Salerno, an assistant superintendent for the district, said he believes the first two pens looked like "Bic-type pens," and El Monte High Principal Joel Kyne said the one at his school was a black felt marker.

    The incidents started at Rosemead High School on Aug. 24, when students were registering for school. A construction worker at the school saw the pen lying on the ground near a line of students and picked it up. He suffered minor injuries when the pen exploded.

    About three weeks later, a female resident of Rosemead was walking just outside the school's fence when she saw a pen lying on the ground. She pulled the cap off, and the pen exploded.

    The woman suffered minor burns and her skin was punctured by pieces of the pen. She was treated at a local hospital.

    After Friday's incident, police searched a residence in Rosemead but found no explosives.

    In the wake of the explosions, administrators warned students not to pick up anything, even trash, and to notify adults if they saw something lying on the ground.

    "You never think it's going to happen to you, ever," Kyne said. "It makes you be aware of the funky things going on."

    Daisy Aguirre, 14, said the incidents are disconcerting.

    "That was kind of scary," she said as she climbed into her mother's sport utility vehicle after school.

    Daisy Aguirre's cousin, Victor Rivera, 16, who was also getting a ride home from Aguirre's mother, added: "I picked up a pencil before, but I thought nothing about it until now."
    Pharoh was pimp but now he is dead. What are you going to do today?

  • #2
    People have problems. Who thinks up this stuff?
    "To dream of the person you would like to be is to waste the person you are."-Sholem Asch

    "I always turn to the sports page first, which records people's accomplishments. The front page has nothing but man's failures."-Earl Warren

    "I didn't intend for this to take on a political tone. I'm just here for the drugs."-Nancy Reagan, when asked a political question at a "Just Say No" rally

    "He no play-a da game, he no make-a da rules."-Earl Butz, on the Pope's attitude toward birth control

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by TopHatsLiberal
      Who thinks up this stuff?

      I do, all the time. I just don't implement them. In fact, it drove me nuts after 9/11 when all the newsies were masterbating themselves mantraing,"Who could have ever imagined?..." Well, GUESS WHAT! As early as 1996 I was having discussions with friends on the subject of "If I were a terrorist, what would I do?" My personal favorite was "Hijack an airliner and CFIT it into the WTC." Why? Because I knew they had a hard-on for the Twin Towers after '93, and that liberals have demanded people just roll-over to terrorists if they took control of the plane, allowing the assailants to do whatever they wanted without hindrance or opposition. The only two things that surprised me about 9/11, is that it took the dimwits so long to implement it, and despite their incompetencies, they managed to hijack four airliners (which only demonstrated what complete morons WE are). I figured two, if they were lucky.
      Last edited by Horrido; 07 Dec 05,, 08:38.
      The black flag is raised: Ban them all... Let the Admin sort them out.

      I know I'm going to have the last word... I have powers of deletion and lock.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by TopHatsLiberal
        People have problems. Who thinks up this stuff?
        Ask and you shall receive!

        http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...track=morenews

        Boy, 17, Admits He Booby-Trapped Pens

        By Wendy Thermos, Times Staff Writer

        A 17-year-old Rosemead boy has admitted booby-trapping pens that exploded at two high school campuses and injured three people, telling investigators he did it as revenge for being expelled, a police detective said Thursday.

        El Monte police arrested the youth, who attended Rosemead High School, on Wednesday after an anonymous phone tip led them to search his home.

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        They said they found explosive materials and books he allegedly used to rig ordinary writing pens to detonate when uncapped by unwitting passersby who found them lying on the ground at Rosemead and El Monte high schools.

        "He admitted this was stupid," El Monte Police Det. Dennis Miller said. "It's a very serious offense. I wouldn't consider it a prank."

        The teen, whose name was not released because he is a minor, was being held at Juvenile Hall on suspicion of using a destructive device and possession of bomb-making components, both felonies. The case will be presented to the district attorney today for possible charges.

        The victims suffered minor burns and scratches on their hands and faces.

        School officials and police found the randomness and potentially serious physical harm of the acts worrisome.

        "It could have turned into something that caused far more injury, and even death, than it did," Miller said.

        School officials expressed relief over the arrest. "Obviously we're very happy," said Nick Salerno, an assistant superintendent of the El Monte Union High School District, which includes both campuses. "Honestly, I have no comprehension of why anyone would do anything like that."

        Miller said it's not clear why the boy wanted to get revenge for being expelled by harming strangers.

        Since his expulsion, the boy has been in an off-campus study program to try to get his diploma, Miller said.

        School officials and the detective declined to give other details about the teen, including when and why he was expelled.

        When police and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's arson-explosives squad served a search warrant on the boy's home Wednesday, his parents were "very surprised," Miller said. "They didn't know that he'd been doing this. They're nice people and were very cooperative."

        The books seized by investigators described explosive-making procedures but did not say how to rig a pen to detonate, Miller said. "Coming up with the idea was his doing," he said.

        The incidents started at Rosemead High School on Aug. 24 while students were registering for school. A construction worker on campus picked up a pen near a line of students and it exploded in his hands. In September, another small blast occurred when a female resident of Rosemead picked up a pen just outside the school's fence.

        A week ago, a student was injured at El Monte High School when he picked up a felt-tip pen in a restroom.

        ---END---
        Pharoh was pimp but now he is dead. What are you going to do today?

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