A 17-year-old male faces two bomb-related charges after the discovery of a homemade bomb in a house paralyzed an east-end neighbourhood.
The youth, whose name can't be published because he's a minor, remained in hospital in police custody yesterday, his condition unknown. He was taken into custody after the discovery of the bomb Monday when police and paramedics were called to a Lisa Crt. home about a male in "medical distress."
The youth is charged with "having care and control of an explosive substance with intent to endanger life and having care and control of an explosive substance," said Const. Amy Phillipo of London police.
"If there were any intended victims, it's unknown at this time and if there was an intended location, that's still under investigation."
Police haven't described the bomb, although p olice Chief Murray Faulkner has cited the explosive as an example of the power of the Internet and the information it offers.
Yesterday, Faulkner, a 36-year policing veteran, said he can't recall similar charges being laid in London.
"We've had bombings, but never caught anyone, so charges were never laid," he said. "So, these are extremely unusual. The wording (for the charges) wasn't even in our computer system. We had to look it up in a Criminal Code book."
Officers and paramedics went to the home and called in the police force's bomb disposal unit, at first evacuating homes on either side of the youth's home, then ordering residents from about 30 more homes to leave.
It took police about 14 hours to disarm the bomb and neutralize explosive substances found at the home.
Police sent a detonation robot into the house to get a better look at the device just before noon Monday.
The robot was then used to move the bomb and other materials outside where they were deactivated using controlled explosions.
The residents were allowed to return to their homes shortly after midnight, after the bomb scare had ended, although an emergency shelter was set up at Carling Heights Community Centre.
joe.belanger@sunmedia.ca
