A 12-year-old boy was charged Monday in the investigation of a fake explosive device that was found near a Sharpsburg street last week, investigators said.
During an interview, the boy confessed to constructing the device, and to causing damage to a victim’s car by scratching a profanity into the paint of the vehicle, according to a news release from the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office.
First believed to be an undetonated pipe bomb, the device was found by a property owner mowing his lawn in the 200 block of South Mechanic Street on June 21, investigators said.
A bomb squad was called in and a robot was used to make sure the device posed no danger. Authorities determined that the device was made to look like a pipe bomb, but did not have explosive material inside.
No injuries were reported in the incident, and a motive was not determined after speaking with the juvenile, investigators said.
The boy was charged with constructing a phony device and was taken to the Western Maryland Children’s Center, where he was awaiting review by the Department of Juvenile Services.
