Improvised explosive device detonates on elementary school PLAYGROUND in Montana
- A homemade bomb that was stored inside a soda bottle exploded at a school
- Montana authorities say they are searching for additional explosive devices
- Officials at the Rossiter Elementary School blocked off the area at 8.20 am
- No children were around when it exploded and no damage was caused
A homemade bomb that was stored inside a soda bottle exploded in a school playground in Montana on Tuesday.
Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office claimed there were no injuries at the Rossiter Elementary School in Helena but they evacuated the building as a precaution following the discovery of the improvised explosive device, (IED).
School officials blocked off the area and phoned police minutes before classes began for the day around 8.20 am.
The IED was described by authorities as a soda bottle type device which had been covered in duct tape.
No threat had been made, authorities said, and no damage to the building was reported.
All Helena District 1 Schools and East Helena Schools remained on lock down on Tuesday and will be searched by law enforcement, the sheriff’s office said.
Sheriff Leo Dutton told ABC News they are not sure exactly when the device exploded, saying it ‘was in a pop bottle.’
He said: ‘It was a pop bottle that had been out on the playground and it had some definitive marks about it.
‘It was covered in duct tape, but we’re not releasing the exact components, but it was an IED.’
‘What precautions have been taken so far is all of the kids in Rossiter school are out for the day, they were given a safe evacuation route over to the little red school house.
‘We called in the FBI and ATF, our bomb squad is there and we’ll be using a bomb detection dog to clear the area.’
Agents with the FBI and the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) are at the scene to ensure that the area is safe.
Undersheriff Jason Grimmis said authorities also are conducting sweeps of other schools, along with the state Capitol and government buildings.
There were no threats made against the elementary school or other campuses before the explosion.
Helena is the capitol city of Montana, home to about 30,000 people in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
Grimmis the ABC News: ‘We’re making sure that we do an entire sweep of the school, the interior as well as the exterior, we deployed uniformed officers.
‘There was no phone call or threat, nothing was said to us dramatic or anything like that, nothing created urgency this morning.
He added: ‘We don’t know what time it exploded, what we do know is that it did not explode while there was students there or faculty there, which is a good sign and nobody got hurt.’