Michigan Student Accidentally Sets Off Homemade Explosive In Classroom; 5 Injured

A 16-year-old student in Michigan accidentally detonated a homemade explosive that he brought to school Monday, injuring himself and four others.

Police officers were dispatched to the Newaygo High School following an explosion inside the classroom Monday morning.

"High School Administration dialed 911 and emergency services arrived on the scene. The school was immediately evacuated, and students were transferred to the bus garage. All Newaygo County Schools went into lockdown according to the county emergency operations plan until information was obtained that there were no further threats to students," Newaygo Police Department tweeted.

The school authorities initially thought it was a firework.

Newaygo Schools Superintendent Peggy Mathis said the explosion was "not an attack or designed to be something malicious, but a serious lack of judgment." "The explosion was not somebody planting an explosive device in order to hurt our students. Those directly involved with the situation determined that was not the intent," Mathis told MLive.

While the 16-year-old was taken to a hospital for moderate to severe injuries, the other students only suffered minor injuries. A teacher also sought treatment at the hospital.

The high school students were sent home Monday, while other classes had a full day as usual.

Michigan State Police spokesperson Michelle Robinson said they do not believe the student had any "malicious intent and that the detonation was an isolated incident."

"The classroom teacher also went to the hospital, as the explosion involved smoke and there was concern about the chemicals potentially used in the device," Robinson said.

The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms were assisting the local and state police departments to identify the explosive material. Police were executing a search warrant at a Newaygo County residence as part of the investigation.

In 2019, a teacher presenting a "lighting an accelerant-soaked bill" experiment in Georgia had caused a fire in the lab that burned out of control and seriously injured a student.