WOODINVILLE, Wash. — Multiple mailboxes were destroyed, and brush and trees burned in a Woodinville neighborhood in what the King County Sheriff’s Office is investigating as a felony bombing.
KIRO 7 Reporter Michael Spears explains what the suspects could be charged with once they're caught and why for a report in our 5 p.m. newscast.
Investigators say though it was likely a fireworks prank by teens, they are not quite sure what caused the explosion so they are calling it an improvised explosive device.
It happened in the 17000 block of Northeast 160th Place at 2:40 a.m. Monday.
The explosion and fire were caught on camera by a neighbor’s home surveillance system. In it, an SUV is seen pulling up and someone gets out and runs over to the location of the mailboxes. Something is seen being lit and then the person runs back to the vehicle.
An explosion follows just as the vehicle pulls away. A second, much larger explosion erupts, followed by a fire that starts out small but grows much larger as brush and trees catch fire.
About 10 minutes later, the video also shows a neighbor who awoke to find flames leaping an estimated 40 feet into the air. He comes out and sees the fire, goes back to grab a pruner and then cuts off tree limbs to keep the fire from spreading while he waits for firefighters to arrive, according to the sheriff’s office.
Aside from the landscaping, the blast and fire burned the structure holding the mailboxes as well as seven mailboxes inside it.
The suspects are only described as four white males, ages 16 to 18 years old, who were in a white Ford Escape.
Neighbors said the fire and explosion happened after a very dry and hot day and could have set the neighborhood on fire.
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