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Dog finds ‘incredibly dangerous’ homemade explosive on school field, Oregon cops say

A homemade explosive was found by a dog and its owner on a school field on Feb. 23, 2022, in Sherwood, Oregon, police said. The explosive was put in a hole then safely detonated.
A homemade explosive was found by a dog and its owner on a school field on Feb. 23, 2022, in Sherwood, Oregon, police said. The explosive was put in a hole then safely detonated. Sherwood Police Department

A dog picked up a homemade explosive shaped like a ball on an Oregon school field, police said.

The dog and its owner were on a field at Sherwood Middle School on Wednesday, Feb. 23 when they came across the device, Sherwood police said in a news release.

A photo shows a ball-shaped object with a red fuse sticking out. Police said the homemade explosive was wrapped in tape.

Authorities responded to the call around 6:11 p.m. and called an explosives unit, police said.

The unit confirmed the device was a homemade explosive like a mortar firework.

They placed the device in a hole before detonating it, police said. There wasn’t any damage done to the property.

“This (device is) incredibly dangerous and can cause serious physical injury or death,” police said. “If you see something that looks similar to this; do not touch it and immediately call 911.”

Police also warned the public to keep their dogs on a leash.

The investigation is ongoing as police continue to search the middle school property and other schools throughout the area.

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This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 2:24 PM with the headline "Dog finds ‘incredibly dangerous’ homemade explosive on school field, Oregon cops say."

Helena Wegner
McClatchy DC
Helena Wegner is a McClatchy National Real-Time Reporter covering the state of Washington and the western region. She’s a journalism graduate from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She’s based in Phoenix.
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