Bainbridge Police have identified six island juveniles suspected of detonating homemade “sparkler bombs” in several portable bathrooms this month, according to a Tuesday police release.
Two youths were arrested Monday evening and booked into Kitsap County Juvenile Detention Center, while four others had already been referred to prosecutors, Deputy Police Chief Mark Duncan said.
The explosives, which consist of tightly wrapped sparkler fireworks, have reportedly been involved in at least seven incidents over the last month, including the destruction of four portable, plastic restrooms.
Duncan said police believe the two suspects arrested Monday were responsible for creating and detonating sparkler bombs in two portable restrooms on June 18. One bomb destroyed a restroom on Point White Drive and a second exploded in a restroom at Hidden Cove Park during a youth baseball game.
Police estimated total damage to the two structures at over $5,000.
Duncan said the explosion during the baseball game was especially worrisome, because sparkler bombs can pack enough explosive force to badly injure or kill someone who entered a restroom at the time of detonation.
“Everyone hears this and thinks it’s just like throwing a firecracker in a mailbox,” Duncan said. “This is a significant explosion, when it blows apart a structure like this.”
On June 7, an explosion blew the door off of a portable restroom near the Bainbridge High School softball field and rattled the windows of nearby houses. Police found remnants of sparklers and duct tape inside the structure.
A portable restroom at a construction site on Lovgreen Road was destroyed by a sparkler bomb June 19. According to the police report, a resident heard the explosion and reported seeing several juveniles running from the scene laughing. The resident relayed police the license plate number of the vehicle the youths drove away in.
A trash receptacle near Point White Dock was blown apart by a sparkler bomb June 2 and two incidents involving sparkler bombs being lit on roadways were also reported this month.
The suspects have been referred to prosecutors for charging and police are continuing the investigation.
