Students arrested for 'pop bottle bomb'

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Three Calvin College students were taken into custody Friday night after admitting to police they manufactured a dozen explosive devices and threw them onto campus grounds.

Police and bomb squad units responded to the campus around 10 p.m. after a Calvin College employee found the suspicious materials and called 911. Police later described the devices as "pop bottle bombs."

Two-liter bottles were filled with explosive chemicals that would react with one another, building pressure and causing the bottle to explode, Sgt. Jim Baumgart said. The potential danger of such a bomb can be concerning, he added. The number of bottles in question made for an additional risk, Baumgart said.

The bottles were found in a courtyard area of the dormitory.

The three male students arrested face felony charges of manufacturing an explosive device, Baumgart said. Police will forward their case to the prosecutor's office, which will decide whether to file any charges.

Calvin College spokesman Matt Kucinski told 24 Hour News 8 the school is looking into the situation. The students were "having fun with pop bottles ... throwing them out of dorm windows," he said. The students did this "not realizing the consequences of what they were doing."

Firefighters and police cleared the scene around 11:30 p.m.