Urbandale woman injured by pop bottle bomb

A 61-year-old woman in a Des Moines suburb was injured Sunday when a bomb made out of a plastic pop bottle exploded. Urbandale Police Department spokesman, Sergeant Dave Disney, says the woman was trying to get rid of two bottle bombs she discovered in her yard. He says she was trying to relieve the pressure from the bottles and she couldn’t get the lid off the second one and punctured it. The bottle then exploded in her hand. Disney says the unidentified woman suffered injuries to her hand and maybe to her hearing, but she refused medical treatment. Disney says the exploding bottle could be heard several blocks away and raises this warning for anyone who finds one. He says don’t try to mess with it, don’t touch it, and call your local police department. He says they’re very unstable and you don’t know when they could go off. Disney says it’s also something you should warn kids about.He says parents should talk to kids about finding something suspicious, as he says the bombs look like a typical two-liter plastic pop bottle. He says kids should know that they should stay away from them as they could really get hurt. The bottle bombs are sometimes called McGuyver bombs after a former TV show. Disney says they aren’t that common, although they did arrest a man earlier this year for building them. He says the man arrested in August was charged with two counts of possessing explosives, a felony. He says people might think they’re a prank, but he says this shows they’re dangerous and someone can get hurt. Disney says they’re looking for the person who built the two bombs. The Polk County Crimestoppers are offering a 500-dollar award for information leading to the person’s arrest and conviction.