Potato Gun at School Causes Pipe Bomb Scare

The potato gun was loaded with an apple.

But whoever left the device outside Bel Pre Elementary School in Silver Spring over the weekend apparently picked an overly plump apple or misjudged the strength of the PVC pipe-turned-projectile launcher.

"We think they had a catastrophic failure in the launching device," said Capt. Kevin Frazier of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.

"The apple was in the launcher."

In layman's terms, the apple got stuck, and the combustion chamber blew up.

A construction worker yesterday morning spotted the wrecked gun, which he mistook for a pipe bomb. The county's bomb squad raced to the school, at 13801 Rippling Brook Dr., shortly after 6:30 a.m.

A technician in a bomb suit crept up to the device, which was ultimately deemed harmless. But firefighters and police officers spent a couple of hours searching for other threats before giving school officials the all-clear at 9:30 a.m.

Investigators are trying to determine who built the potato gun and whether that person was injured when it failed to fire.

For those who didn't play with potato guns during adolescence: They're usually made with a length of PVC pipe connected to a combustion chamber.

The ammunition -- a potato typically but apparently an apple occasionally -- is jammed down the pipe, compressing the air inside. Then an accelerant is pumped into the combustion chamber, which is wired to a triggering device.

When the device works right, potatoes and other projectiles can travel more than 400 yards, Frazier said.

Although cheap and relatively simple to make, the devices should not be considered toys, Frazier said.

"Someone could have been hurt or was hurt," he said.

"These things have never been governable by law, but they are extremely dangerous."

Montgomery fire investigators see about five potato guns a year. They are popular among teenage boys, Frazier said.

Users could end up getting charged with reckless endangerment or assault, depending on how the device is employed, Montgomery police spokeswoman Lt. Porsha Jones said.

But simply owning one is not a crime.

"There is no charge on the books for possession of a potato gun," Jones said.