Breaking News - August 18, 2008

Police Looking For Three Running Teens Following Explosion At CHS

Columbia firefighters assess the damage to the weight room entrance to Columbia High School following a Sunday night explosion.

“It shook the house,” reports Columbia resident Bob Baltz regarding an explosion which occurred Sunday night at 10:45 p.m. at Columbia High School.

Soon after he got out of the shower at his home on Cascade Drive in Columbia, just north of the high school, Baltz heard and felt an explosion. He ran outside and noticed three teenage boys running towards his home.

“They ran between two of my neighbors’ homes and then toward Imo’s,” Baltz said. “One had on a white shirt with black lettering on the back.”

Believing they must have something to do with the explosion at the high school, Baltz hollered at the juveniles to stop, but they continued running. Another witness to the explosion saw one teenage boy walking away from the school soon after he saw the explosion.

“I saw one teenager walking away to the north from the high school,” said Sergei Mali, who was taking an evening walk.

People who were at Bolm-Schuhkraft park reported hearing people yelling, including phrases like “We did it. We did it.” They also reported seeing a blue Chevy Cobalt driving near the vicinity of the high school soon after the explosion.  

Columbia police officers quickly canvassed the area and, as of 11:30 p.m., continue to search for suspects. The Illinois State Police Crime Unit was dispatched to assist in the investigation.

The initial report is that a bomb, possibly a pipe bomb or a gas-filled Molotov cocktail, was used to cause the explosion at the weight room entrance to the school. The force of the blast caused a large fire ball, several large dents in the doors, a large black mark in the pavements and damage to the adjacent roof.

The Columbia Department is asking anyone who witnessed the explosion or has addition information about the incident or seeing a blue Chevy Cobalt that was in the area of the high school at that time to call the dispatcher’s office at 281-5151.