ROSEMEAD, Calif., Dec. 9 (UPI) -- A 17-year-old California high school student, upset over his expulsion, allegedly booby-trapped pens that injured three people.
Following up on an anonymous telephone tip, police in El Monte, Calif., arrested the youth Wednesday, reports The Los Angeles Times. None of the victims had been seriously hurt.
Police said a search of the youth's home unearthed explosive materials. They said they also found books the youth allegedly used to rig ordinary writing pens to detonate when uncapped by unwitting passersby who found them on the ground at Rosemead and El Monte high schools.
The teenager was being held at a juvenile center on suspicion of using a destructive device and possession of bomb-making components, both felonies.
School officials would not say when or why the youth was expelled. Since his expulsion, the accused has been in an off-campus study program.
