FEDS ASSIST BLAST INQUIRY IN KETTERING
Residents say they have heard explosions in recent weeks.
Federal authorities are assisting a Kettering police investigation into an explosion that left a debris field on a quiet, suburban street Friday night.
Material left behind from the device that exploded near the intersection of Glenheath Drive and Hemphill Road is being analyzed by agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Kettering police said Monday.
Despite multiple residents indicating they’ve heard explosions in recent weeks, Friday’s incident is the only confirmed explosion in the city, according to Kettering police spokesman John Jung.
In addition, five days earlier a suspicious device was found on Hemphill Road. The Dayton Bomb Squad was called to the scene, and their crews used a remote-controlled robot to securely remove the device, which was taken away and detonated.
“A number of citizens have claimed they’ve heard several explosions in the past several weeks and that may be the case, but they didn’t report them and police were not dispatched,” Jung said.
Few details from the investigation are being released, including whether any suspects have been identified and what exactly was found in the debris field on Friday.
“This seems to be more than what I would consider a firecracker or something to that effect ... We’re talking about something a little bit bigger than that,” Jung said.
Jung said investigators don’t know yet exactly what was detonated on Friday.
“We’re going to be relying on the experts to help us out with the investigation and to find out exactly what these devices are,” he said.
The Dayton Bomb Squad and ATF agents are assisting in the investigation. It’s not clear how long it will be before laboratory test results are available on the materials found at the scene.
Debris was found in the roadway at Glenheath and Hemphill from Friday’s explosion. Jung said the actual explosion occurred about 20 yards away from that location.
“It was very evident where this device did detonate. As far as the specifics ... I can’t really go into that,” he said.
Connie Konicki, who lives not far from where police had cordoned off as part of the crime scene on Friday, said she heard “a loud boom” that rattled her windows and startled her out of bed.
“I jumped out of bed to go look out the window, but there was nothing going on out there,” she said.
Konicki said it’s scary that someone is doing this. She said her neighbors are talking about hearing other explosions over the past several weeks.
“If it’s kids doing it, they need to stop,” Konicki said.
Police are sending out extra patrols in the neighborhood where the device was detonated. Residents are being asked to be extra vigilant and to call police — 937-296-2555 — if anything appears suspicious.