So three juveniles were arrested yesterday for leaving homemade acid bombs in a WalMarks parking lot here in the upscale burb where I work.
Three boys have been taken into custody in connection with a rash of acid bomb incidents in The Woodlands that injured a resident.
Several tips from the public led Montgomery County fire investigators to the juveniles last weekend, who were seen on store surveillance footage buying materials used to make the nine improvised explosive devices, according to Fire Marshal Jimmy Williams.
Investigators located nine acid bombs near the western edge of The Woodlands in the area of FM 2878 and Woodlands Parkway. Evidence was recovered at the scenes.
A resident suffered minor injuries when he picked up one of the devices and it exploded, Williams said. He "saw a bottle and reached down to pick it up and it went off in his hand."
The devices were made from small plastic bottles filled with chemicals and foil or metal objects. A chemical reaction occurs when the devices are shaken and thrown, resulting in the violent rupture of the plastic containers.
The juvenile suspects have been referred to the Montgomery County Justice Center.
"The investigation will continue to determine if others were involved," Williams stated in a press release.
In addition to whatever happens to them in court, their parents also need to take action. These three are just chilluns, and I'm sure they didn't mean to do it. They have to be very good kids from very good families, as this is a very affluent suburb (I mean, the lawyer who cares even has family that lives in The Woodlands, and we know he's stinking filthy rich) No one was seriously injured so I think their punishment needs to be carefully considered.
So, carefully considering, if you are their parent, do you pull the nails out of the two by four before you beat them with it or not? Or do you just use an ax handle and call it happy?
These days I look at this in the context of "Oh, shit what if this was my kid?" I know that it used to be that the juvies were just that - juvies. The bad kid, the bad seed, the rotten apple from the broken home full of drug users and alcoholics. But these days, it seems that any kid, no matter how they are raised, can be the bad kid - from learning and doing shit off the internet to Jackass movies to just being bored or having working parents who can't supervise 24/7 - it doesn't take much for something bad to happen and their lives be ruined before they start. Good homes, good parents, smart kids - it doesn't seem to matter anymore. Just makes me even more paranoid about mine than ever, even though I know they are being raised right.