Massachusetts Home Rigged To Explode: Booby-Trapped House Wired With Light Switch IED
Police in a Boston suburb are looking for suspects who booby-trapped a rental residence that was on the market for sale. Milton investigators say a Massachusetts home rigged to explode was done with “malicious intent.” No arrests have been made as of this writing, citing a Huffington Post report.
Tuesday, residents were alerted to a “suspicious device” that was found inside a vacant home on Craig Street. Homeowner Lindell Williams, a former landlord of the dwelling, called local authorities when the explosive device was found in the home.
During a pre-inspection of the property – as part of county requirements for sale readiness – an electrician noticed wiring throughout the house that didn’t conform to building code. After tracing it, he discovered that the Massachusetts home was rigged to blow up when a lamp or light switch was flipped to the “on” position.
A bomb squad from the city was called in to investigate the rigged crude device. Specialists arrived on the scene a short time later and set up a perimeter in the event the device exploded.
They soon confirmed that the home was wired with an “IED” aka improvised explosive device (jargon commonly used in the military). Police found wiring throughout the walls and even in the rafters in the attic. Essentially, when someone turned on a light, the surge would detonate an accelerant meant to explode throughout the house, according to Milton Police Chief Richard Wells.
“We knew just by looking at it that this was something else.”
Thankfully, after hours of sweeping the home with K-9s specially trained to detect explosive material, and removing all evidence of a “bomb,” streets were open up to traffic in the Massachusetts community.
It’s unknown who was the target – if anyone – from the device rigged to explode in the home. Police are trying to contact the previous tenants who moved out just last weekend. All is that’s known is a man, woman, and girl lived in Williams’ rental. Apparently, they phoned 911 operators recently to report that their drains had been plugged with cement, supposedly perpetrated by vandals.
Longtime residents in the community say the three former residents were seldom seen and had only been living there since June of last year. Pam Cherry has lived in the neighborhood for over a decade. She spoke to reporters about her former neighbors.
“The people that lived there weren’t neighbors that anyone knew. She said she had never experienced such an event in her area, but I suppose it could happen in any neighborhood.”
The investigation of the Massachusetts home rigged up to detonate and explode using a light switch is ongoing. Records show the home has been a “target” in the past for vandalism. However, police are considering all people suspects who’ve had previous contact with the residential property.
[Photo by: HNGN]
