An improvised explosive device discovered by a LaPorte County resident was made to be destructive or to injure someone and was considered very dangerous, according to the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies were called to the 600 block of Longwood Drive, just outside of Michigan City, around 1:45 p.m. on Monday, July 4.
Once at the scene, deputies learned that a resident had been cleaning trash and litter from a ditch along Welnetz Road when she found what she believed to be a homemade firework, according to LaPorte County Sheriff’s Captain Michael Kellems.
The sheriff’s deputy determined the device was an IED and evacuated the area, Kellums stated.
The Porter County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad was called to the scene. Bomb technicians determined that the device was stable enough to be moved to a trailer. The IED was then taken to a nearby field where it was detonated, Kellums stated.
The device consisted of two mason jars that contained a flammable liquid. Each jar contained a pipe bomb. The devices were connected together with a fuse, Kellums stated.
Investigators were ale to collect enough remnants of the device to help determine who may have made the device, Kellums stated.
