Sunday evening, neighbors called police after they saw teens at the park and heard several loud blasts. "It sounded like gunshots! I heard the first one inside, I got up to investigate, and the minute I opened the front door, another one went off," said neighborhood resident David McEwen.
"We could see the bottles pop up, but we never saw the kids. They took off. Then, everybody came out, and it was like, "hey, what happened?" said neighborhood resident Joe Gutierrez.
A few people told police they've heard other explosions in the neighborhood before but they've never thought twice. Police believe the teens are probably finding bomb making "recipes" on the internet. "Apparently, it smelled like bleach. I don't know that they've done any chemical analysis, but that's what it smelled like, so that was probably one of those ingredients," said Clovis Police Department Spokesperson Janet Stoll-Lee.
Police said the teens could face charges but there is also a fear they could hurt themselves or others, especially because they may have left the bombs unattended in a spot that's popular with young children. "They could have blown their own hand off, with what I heard," said McEwen.
Gutierrez is worried about what else the kids might use to experiment. "You don't know what they're going to do next. That's the bad part about it, if they're willing to do this ... What's next? That can get scary," said Gutierrez.
Clovis Police are asking parents to be aware of what their teens are doing on the internet and around the house because many of the devices can be made with cleaning liquids and tablets. If you see any suspicious activity around your neighborhood you are urged to call police.
