EAST CHICAGO — A bomb squad used a robot to blow up a car loaded with explosives causing a blast felt by residents three blocks away.
The Lake County sheriff said the car was little more than a twisted piece of steel after the Porter County Bomb Squad’s robot shot water under extremely high pressure at it to detonate the explosives Wednesday night. Police also arrested a man who told them the explosives were in the car.
The incident began just before 7:30 p.m., when East Chicago police were notified of a man and woman fighting in a car pulled off the side of Cline Avenue in the city just east of Gary.
City police called an ambulance to take the woman to a hospital to treat her injuries, Lake County Sheriff Rogelio Dominguez said. She was released later Wednesday night.
When police took the man, whose name was not released, into custody, he told them there was a bomb in the car.
A Lake County bomb-sniffing dog later indicated there were explosives in the car, Dominguez said.
Police closed the southbound lanes of Cline Avenue and blocked traffic at all interstate ramps leading to Cline.
The roadway remained closed late Wednesday while investigators inspected the scene, and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was called to investigate.
The sheriff said his detectives were preparing to interview the man in custody and were not yet sure of the motive for the bomb.
So how many bombs does it take to make it a trend? Not like bombs are the norm in this country, yet.
And of course the NYC subway system is surrounded by the police right now.