Acid Blast Injures Two
Byline: Corey Lyons
Contra Costa Newspapers
Oct. 30, 2001
A canister of hydrochloric acid exploded outside the front door of the Oakley Police Department late Sunday night, forcing two officers to be briefly hospitalized with burning eyes and throats.
The incident occurred about 11 p.m. near the front station steps on O'Hara Avenue while officers were changing shifts inside.
Late Monday night, police executed a search warrant on an Oakley home and arrested one suspect, Contra Costa sheriff's Lt. Dave Brown said. Further information was unavailable.
Officers were startled by a loud boom that sounded like a shotgun blast, said Oakley police Sgt. Jeff Billeci. Fearing that shots were being fired, three officers, their guns drawn, scrambled outside to investigate.
Two officers leaving through the front door walked into a cloud of noxious fumes from the apparent acid bomb, said Oakley police Chief Tom Lambert.
Officer Mike Lee and Contra Costa County sheriff's Sgt. Tom Conger were rushed via ambulance to Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch, where they were treated and released. The officers had complained of burning eyes, throats and nasal passages.
"This was not a prank and we're not treating it as a prank," Lambert said. "This was assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon."
Early Monday, the county hazardous materials team arrived to identify the substance.
About a quart of hydrochloric acid, packed into a liter-size plastic soda bottle with tinfoil, was used to create the explosion, said Greg Lawler, a county hazardous materials specialist.
"Once the initial cloud is gone, that's pretty much it. The wind will blow the rest of it away," Lawler said.
Hydrochloric acid, which can seriously burn the lungs if inhaled, is a corrosive solution used in industrial production.
The explosion, heard several blocks away, did no damage to the police building. It left a greenish stain on the sidewalk near the front steps.
The remains of the plastic bottle and shredded pieces of paper were collected and sent to a county crime lab in Martinez.
Darryl Johnson, 17, who lives directly across the street from the police station on O'Hara Avenue, said the blast forced him out of bed.
"It sounded like a sawed-off, .12-gauge shotgun," he said, while standing in his front yard with a friend. "It was really loud. I felt the vibration. It was very powerful."
In the aftermath, police sealed off streets around the building and told residents to close their doors and windows. No one reported seeing the perpetrator or perpetrators.
One nearby resident, Ronnie Rogers, said that he heard a "heavy" car roaring off shortly after the blast.
Lawler, the county hazardous materials specialist, said that his unit had handled a similar acid bomb within the past six months.
"We had to blow (it) up because there are no safe ways to handle them," he said. "They'll blow sooner or later."
Contra Costa Newspapers
Oct. 30, 2001
A canister of hydrochloric acid exploded outside the front door of the Oakley Police Department late Sunday night, forcing two officers to be briefly hospitalized with burning eyes and throats.
The incident occurred about 11 p.m. near the front station steps on O'Hara Avenue while officers were changing shifts inside.
Late Monday night, police executed a search warrant on an Oakley home and arrested one suspect, Contra Costa sheriff's Lt. Dave Brown said. Further information was unavailable.
Officers were startled by a loud boom that sounded like a shotgun blast, said Oakley police Sgt. Jeff Billeci. Fearing that shots were being fired, three officers, their guns drawn, scrambled outside to investigate.
Two officers leaving through the front door walked into a cloud of noxious fumes from the apparent acid bomb, said Oakley police Chief Tom Lambert.
Officer Mike Lee and Contra Costa County sheriff's Sgt. Tom Conger were rushed via ambulance to Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch, where they were treated and released. The officers had complained of burning eyes, throats and nasal passages.
"This was not a prank and we're not treating it as a prank," Lambert said. "This was assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon."
Early Monday, the county hazardous materials team arrived to identify the substance.
About a quart of hydrochloric acid, packed into a liter-size plastic soda bottle with tinfoil, was used to create the explosion, said Greg Lawler, a county hazardous materials specialist.
"Once the initial cloud is gone, that's pretty much it. The wind will blow the rest of it away," Lawler said.
Hydrochloric acid, which can seriously burn the lungs if inhaled, is a corrosive solution used in industrial production.
The explosion, heard several blocks away, did no damage to the police building. It left a greenish stain on the sidewalk near the front steps.
The remains of the plastic bottle and shredded pieces of paper were collected and sent to a county crime lab in Martinez.
Darryl Johnson, 17, who lives directly across the street from the police station on O'Hara Avenue, said the blast forced him out of bed.
"It sounded like a sawed-off, .12-gauge shotgun," he said, while standing in his front yard with a friend. "It was really loud. I felt the vibration. It was very powerful."
In the aftermath, police sealed off streets around the building and told residents to close their doors and windows. No one reported seeing the perpetrator or perpetrators.
One nearby resident, Ronnie Rogers, said that he heard a "heavy" car roaring off shortly after the blast.
Lawler, the county hazardous materials specialist, said that his unit had handled a similar acid bomb within the past six months.
"We had to blow (it) up because there are no safe ways to handle them," he said. "They'll blow sooner or later."
posted by Corey at 10:03 PM
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