Police question teens over bottle bombs

TOWN OF TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) - News 4 spoke to Town of Tonawanda Police Friday morning, who say they are questioning five teenagers over a series of bottle bombs that were found throughout the town.

Town of Tonawanda Police Captain Jon Scott said, "This is a situation where five individuals, young individuals, saw something that looked interesting on YouTube and tried to copy it."

A town worker at the Brighton Park Golf Course called police when a can in the trash exploded.

Five of the bottle bombs, which had not gone off, were found at the golf course.

Three more were on the field at the Green Acres Building in the Ken-Ton School District.

The district's facilities went into a lock down mode for a period of time.

Ken Ton School Superintendent Mark Mondanaro said, "We want to err on the side of safety, and make sure that we are doing the best that we can to preserve the safety of the students in our districts."

Police don't believe anyone was targeted, there were no injuries, and nothing was damaged.

Investigators believe the teenagers were pulling a prank, but experts say this is no laughing matter.

"Very dangerous. Not only do you have the separation of the container to deal with. You also have the caustic chemical inside, which you get it in your eyes, cause serious damage," said Erie County Bomb Squad Commander Dan Walczack.

Authorities are not blaming YouTube, but say something needs to change.

"There should be some restrictions obviously yes, but how are you going to enforce that it would be very very difficult," Walczack said.

News 4 called police Friday morning who say, the investigation is on going.

They are not releasing the teens names at this time.