Improvised explosives device reported near WWU, Sehome High
Bellingham Police found a homemade “sparkler bomb” over the weekend on a side street off Bill McDonald Parkway, near both Sehome High and Western Washington University.
An officer from the department’s Hazardous Devices Unit “took custody of the device” about noon Sunday, Feb. 13, in the 3000 block of Ferry Avenue, according to an online report.
“An improvised explosives device was found by a maintenance person at the above location,” the report said.
A sparkler bomb is made from tape, aluminum foil, and sparklers of the kind used at Independence Day and New Year’s Eve, but they have been known to cause serious injury.
Bellingham Police Lit. Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald that authorities don’t know who left the device.
“Out of an abundance of caution, a member of the Hazardous Devices Unit inspected the device and determined it was a poorly made sparkler bomb,” Murphy said in an email.
“Had it been lit; it would have burned as a normal sparkler was designed to,” she said.
Sunday’s incident wasn’t affecting Sehome High operations, said Dana Smith, spokeswoman for Bellingham Public Schools.
“There is no connection to or involvement with Sehome, and this incident is not affecting anything at the school today,” Smith told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
“We follow our safety protocols and the advice of law enforcement, and we have not been advised to take any steps,” Smith said.
Ferry Avenue is a short side street flanked by multi-level apartment buildings and part of it forms the northern boundary of Sehome High School.
It’s just east of Western Washington University.
This story was originally published February 14, 2022 at 9:57 AM.
