UPDATE: Some citizens have asked why the sheriff’s department did not issue an official press release on the July 11 incident until July 15. LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office Major John Boyd responded to WNLP on the afternoon of July 15: “One reason is that we do not comment on open and ongoing investigations and as our investigation progressed on the night of July 11 and into July 12, we learned that there was no exigency and that the suspect who had been in possession of the device had acted alone and that there was only one device. Our investigation also revealed that the suspect had not intended to injure anyone. There had been no media or public inquiries (up to that point), so the release was sent out the next business day, which was today (July 15). Our investigation involved a number of investigators from several different agencies.”
Two LaPorte boys, each 16, were arrested at the LaPorte County Fair on Thursday, July 11, 2013, after police were tipped off that they had an explosive device in their backpack. The device was capable of “wounding and maiming a number of people,” according to the Porter County Bomb Squad, which dismantled the device.
Here is the press release issued by the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office on July 15:
“On Thursday, July 11, at approximately 9:04 pm, LaPorte County Sheriff’s deputies who were providing law enforcement services at the LaPorte County Fair, were approached by a concerned citizen who reported information regarding a potential explosive device that was in possession of a juvenile who was in attendance. The complainant stated that it was believed that the suspect was planning to detonate the device near the carnival rides. A description of the suspect was provided and within several minutes, the LaPorte County Regional Dispatch Center received a 911 call from an anonymous caller that related the same information.
“Acting upon the information, Sheriff’s deputies quickly swept the fairgrounds and within 7 minutes located the suspect and a suspicious device was located within a backpack that he was wearing. The backpack was removed from the suspect and he was secured in handcuffs. While deputies were further searching the suspect, another juvenile male who had been standing nearby began to argue with deputies and was loud and unruly, disrupting the deputies from investigating this matter. That juvenile, who was 16 years of age, refused to quiet and due to his disruptive behavior, was taken into custody for disorderly conduct. While attempting to secure him he kicked one of the deputies and resisted and was therefore sprayed with Oleoresin Capsicum (OC or pepper spray) and he soon became compliant. He was also charged with battery to a police officer and resisting law enforcement and was ultimately transported to the LaPorte County Juvenile Services Center.
“The suspicious device was removed from the populated area of the fairgrounds and the Porter County Bomb Squad was called upon to dismantle the device. In addition, investigators from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATF) were called. Upon arrival technicians with the Porter County Bomb Squad dismantled the device and confirmed that it was indeed an explosive device.
“Investigators from the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office joined with investigators from the BATF and ascertained that a second suspect was responsible for manufacturing the device. He was soon located at his home and taken into custody without incident. One juvenile, a 16-year-old male from LaPorte, was charged with possession of a destructive device, a Class C felony. The other, also 16 years old, was charged with manufacturing a destructive device, a Class C felony. Both were transported to the Juvenile Services Center.
“The public’s willingness to seek our deputies out and relate information that they had heard, coupled with very quick and systematic search of the grounds, led to the quick apprehension of the suspect and device,” Major John Boyd told WNLP. “These two components resulted in a potential tragedy being averted. As you can imagine, we are quite proud of our deputies.”
Sheriff Mike Mollenhauer said the same in the press release: “The willingness of citizens to seek out sheriff’s deputies and report this information undoubtedly thwarted a violent tragedy from occurring at the heavily populated LaPorte County Fair.”