A homemade bomb, made primarily from a bottle and drain cleaner, was found by an ETSU custodial staff member Friday afternoon outside Lucille Clement Residence Hall near the recycling bins for plastics.The device was considered a homemade incendiary device.
ETSU Public Safety Chief Jack Cotrel said the device did not explode, but still posed a danger to students.
“It did not detonate,” Cotrel said. “But because of the danger it posed, we thought it prudent to let students know about the danger.”
Students received an ETSU GoldAlert message at 2:42 p.m. regarding the device.
“These devices can cause severe burns,” Cotrel said. “This is not generally the type of device that lays in waiting.”
Cotrel speculates that the bottle-bomb is similar to those found in Johnson City residential areas over the past several weeks. “It’s a reasonable thought that the devices are linked,” he said. “But that is total speculation. There is really no way of knowing.”
Cotrel said that when the device was found it posed no danger. “We plan to process the forensics of the bottle and see where that leads us.”
Cotrel said that once forensics are ran on the object, Public Safety will compare the results with that of the Johnson City Police Department to see if the device is linked with the others.
“We plan to talk to the JCPD,” Cotrel said. “Mainly to see if there are any similarities and we will go from there.”
Cotrel said, however, that processing the object “could take a while.”
“It’s not like CSI on TV,” Cotrel said. “It does take time.”
Cotrel encouraged students to report any suspicious activity or object to Public Safety immediately.
“If you see a suspicious bottle,” Cotrel said. “Don’t pick it up. Call us, it’s our job to check things out.”
No one has been arrested or charged in connection to the device found on campus or the others found throughout Johnson City.
JCPD officials could not be reached for comment regarding the devices found in Johnson City.
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