On Sunday, November 18th, a small homemade explosive device was discovered and successfully deactivated along the Colonial Parkway. There were no injuries nor any damage to park resources. Park dispatch received a call just after noon that day regarding a possible pipe bomb at the Mill Creek turnout along the parkway. Ranger Larry Smith responded and secured the parking area with the assistance of James City County police. The device in question was approximately four inches long and a half inch in diameter, with a burnable fuse protruding from one end. The man who’d reported the device said that he and his two children had been fishing in the James River when his 11-year-old son scooped up the small, shiny object with his fishing net. The man saw the fuse; suspecting an explosive device, he placed it under a rock on the beach and called 911. The Virginia State Police bomb squad was called. Bomb specialists rendered the device safe by exploding a small charge on its end, thereby knocking out the end cap and allowing the contents (two to three ounces of black powder) to be removed safely. The area was searched for additional devices, but none were found. Investigators revealed that such devices, known locally as “crickets,” are becoming increasingly popular among juveniles, as the materials are non-regulated and easy to obtain. They are commonly made in batches of five to six devices and were recently responsible for the death of a young boy in the Williamsburg area.
