BURLINGTON — A teenager accidentally set off a pipe bomb inside a car Wednesday while the vehicle was exiting I-189 in the city’s South End, injuring his hand and leg but not the driver or another passenger, police said.
The driver, a 17-year-old female, was able to pull off Shelburne Road into a shopping plaza near Price Chopper. Police were called just before 4:30 p.m., said Burlington police Lt. Shawn Burke.
The injured person, an 18-year-old male, was taken to the University of Vermont Medical Center. Burke said medical staff have told police the young man will not lose any of his fingers, though initial reports suggested one was blown off.
“The person that was injured is the person responsible for making the device,” Burke said.
Police are not identifying the three teens at this time. Officers are consulting the state’s attorney about possible criminal charges, Burke said. Their identities will be public if they are arrested or cited.
Nothing in the investigation indicated this incident was part of a broader plot, a dry run for a broader plot or part of any criminal conspiracy, Burke said. However, possessing a destructive device is a felony under Vermont statutes, Burke said.
“We had information that they were going to go set it off in the lake. It does not appear to be part of a more elaborate plan to hurt anyone,” Burke said.
The young man who allegedly built the device is cooperating with the investigation, he added. Police said they searched his Jericho home and discovered evidence of the device that exploded Wednesday as well as other similar devices.
The bomb was made from a small section of cast pipe and likely filled with some type of black powder, police said. It appears to have been detonated with some type of rudimentary switch, Burke said.
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