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'Bored' St. Pete Teen Charged With Making Bomb

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 20, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - On the first day of Thanksgiving vacation, a middle school student was arrested and accused of making an explosive device after stumbling across a Web site that instructed him how to do so, St. Petersburg police say.

The 14-year-old Riviera Middle School student was arrested Monday on one count of discharging a destructive device.

The teen was online, trying to find a way to make his computer work faster, when he stumbled across a Web site that gave instructions for fabricating a makeshift bomb, said St. Petersburg police spokesman George Kajtsa.

He didn't think it would work, so he decided to give it a try Monday afternoon, Kajtsa said. The project exploded.

The first explosion occurred in the backyard of the teen's St. Petersburg home; he continued to make bombs in a nearby alley, Kajtsa said.

"He stated he thought the explosions were cool and he kept doing it because he was bored," Kajtsa said.

The teen was taken to the Pinellas County Juvenile Assessment Center.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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