BY SUSAN CLARK
Two juveniles have been arrested for allegedly planting three homemade bombs on driveways on Regency Drive in August.
Because the suspects are 14 years old, police said they are unable to release any more information on their identities.
On Aug. 6, at about 9 a.m., police found three improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, after responding to a call of a possible theft at 22 Regency Drive.
The bomb that was potentially the most deadly, nine canisters tied together and filled with gas and powder, was found on a vehicle in the driveway at 22 Regency. Two other bombs were left at neighboring homes.
After calling police on the early morning of Aug. 6, residents Bernard and Pauline Hendrigan of 21 Regency discovered their mailbox was scorched and there was a soda bottle, which responding officers determined was full of chemicals.
“I don’t sleep well and I was up at about 4 a.m., I looked out my window and it was like a candle was burning. I hadn’t heard a car and knew that someone who put it there had walked or rode a bike,” said Pauline Hendrigan.
This was the first serious incident on her street, except for a few overturned mailboxes in the past, she said.
Hendrigan hopes nothing like this will happen again on her relatively quiet street.
“We feel a bit safer. I feel sad at the same time. For some reason, these juveniles didn’t have direction or told their parents they were sleeping at someone’s house,” she said. “It’s sad that this is going on in Bedford.”
Hendrigan said police have not been in touch with her since the arrest of the two juveniles.
“We still don’t know why we were targeted,” she said.
The arrests are the first in a month-long investigation by the Bedford Police Department. On Aug. 6, the department was assisted by local agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the state Police Bomb Squad.
The investigation into the incident by all agencies involved resulted in the arrest of the two juveniles, said Bedford police.
Bedford police Detective Matt Fleming said the three bombs were not remote-controlled and had to be detonated through contact, either lit or by a switch. An unsuspecting handler could unintentionally have been harmed or killed, he said.
“Bedford Police Department wants to assure Bedford residents that this is an isolated incident and there does not appear to be any further risk to the members of community,” said Chief David Bailey.