Two teenage boys were arrested Friday at Aberdeen High School and charged in connection with a chemical reaction device left in a Belcamp McDonald’s last month.
Around 5 p.m. April 23, a Harford County sheriff’s deputy banned two boys from the McDonald’s in the 1300 block of Riverside Parkway, according to a police report.
Three hours later the deputy followed up at the McDonald’s, where an employee told the deputy the same boys had returned and he just put out a fire they allegedly started, according to the report.
The employee said he grabbed a bucket of water and put it over a smoking bottle.
The deputy characterized the smoking bottle as a “Drano” style bomb that explodes when chemicals are combined, according to the report.
The smoke from the bottle spread toxic fumes into the air, and four McDonald’s workers were taken to Harford Memorial Hospital for treatment of nausea and sore throat pain, according to a press release from the Maryland State Fire Marshal. All four individuals, who were not identified, were treated and released.
On Friday, investigators with the Office of the State Fire Marshal arrested and charged the two 16-year-old boys at Aberdeen High School with the help of Aberdeen Police, according to a release from the state fire marshal.
The boys were charged with manufacturing a destructive device, conspiracy and reckless endangerment then taken to the Charles Hickey School, according to the release. One of the boys is facing an additional charge of witness intimidation.
At a hearing Monday, the boys were ordered to be detained at the school until their next court appearance on June 1, according to Bruce Bouch, Maryland Deputy State Fire Marshal.
If convicted they could face up to 60 years imprisonment and $510,000 in fines each, according to the release. The fines could also be imposed instead of imprisonment.