Exploding pens found near L.A. schools

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Exploding pens found near L.A. schools

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Three people have been injured by exploding pens picked up in or near Los Angeles-area high schools.


Last Friday, a student at El Monte High School found a marker in a boy's bathroom, the Los Angeles Times reported. When he took the cap off, the marker detonated.

The other victims were a construction worker who picked up a pen lying on the ground at Rosemead High School in the El Monte Union High School District on Aug. 24 and a woman three weeks later who found a pen lying just outside the fence at Rosemead.

All three suffered minor burns and injuries to hands and faces.

So far, police have few leads. They are unsure even of the motive for leaving the pens around.

"I wouldn't say it's a trick -- people are getting injured," said Detective Gary Spencer of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. "Whether they're doing it for mischief or they intend to injure people -- that's something to be determined."

Copyright 2005 by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
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