No More Pop Bottle Bombs Found in Grosse Pointe Woods, Shores

Police in the Grosse Pointes believe the pop bottle bombs discovered overnight Thursday to Friday and early Friday morning were the work of teenagers who looked up recipes online.

Police in Grosse Pointe Woods and Shores issued community alerts early Friday warning residents that if they spotted one to stay far away and to call police immediately. Ultimately no injuries were reported but there was risk for injury.

The pop bottle bombs were made of two-liter bottles, tin foil, drain cleaner and other common household materials. The combination of chemicals causes extreme pressure eventually leading to the explosion of the bottle. The risk of injury comes through shrapnel when the explosion happens and chemical burns from the drain cleaner.

Of the six pop bottle bombs discovered, four had exploded. Those were in the Woods. The remaining two, which were found on an island in the 900 block of Lake Shore Road in Grosse Pointe Shores, were inspected by Michigan State Police.

Those had not exploded and state police were called.

Shores Director of Public Safety John Schulte said Friday afternoon officers had searched the entire city to ensure additional bombs were not lying around. None were found.

Michigan State Police discovered the bombs in the Shores did not explode because the mixture was not quite right to create the pressure, so they were never going to explode, Schulte said.

Those dropped in the Woods exploded as soon as they hit the ground, Schulte said.

Residents reported the bombs as gunshots when they called 911 because that is what it sounded like, Woods Detective Sgt. Raymond Yonkowski said.

Although it has been some time, police have seen this kind of bomb in the past, Yonkowski said, noting it seems to happen every once in a while.