Youth Held After Police Find Bombs in Home

Police evacuated several houses after finding explosives and bomb-making components at the home of a 17-year-old boy who threatened to kill his family, authorities said Thursday.

The discovery followed the arrest of the youth, who allegedly struck his wheelchair-bound mother after she refused to give him money to spend with friends. The mother summoned police, who arrived to find the boy carrying a loaded rifle and a knife.

“He was very distraught. Officers did a terrific job calming him down,” said Det. Tom Broad. “They got him to put the rifle down without hurting themselves or hurting him,” he said.

According to neighbors, the boy lives on Citronia Street with his father, sister and mother, who suffered a stroke years ago and uses a wheelchair.

Police evacuated several homes after they found crude explosives in the boy’s bedroom. Officers detonated the devices from 1 to 4 a.m. Thursday.

“They were not sophisticated. He was not building an atomic bomb,” Broad said.

Police booked the boy on suspicion of making terrorist threats, and he was being held at the Sylmar Juvenile Hall.

The parents “were not really aware of his deep involvement in the possession of the [explosive] devices,” Broad said. “They knew he had an interest in guns.”

Police said there was no evidence that the boy was planning to use the weapons in a heavily populated place like a school. But following last spring’s Columbine High School shootings in Colorado, police and school administrators are on heightened alert regarding any incidents of youngsters making threats, said Broad.

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A rash of copycat crimes followed the Columbine shootings, many in Southern California. Last week, police arrested a 14-year-old boy for allegedly threatening to bomb two classrooms and kill students who made fun of him at Trinity Lutheran School in Reseda.

Residents on Citronia said although the street is generally quiet, the boy had caused problems in the past. Neighbors said he had previously shot out car and home windows with a BB gun.