Woman charged after pipe bomb found in her car in NW Indiana
A woman was charged Saturday after police said a pipe bomb was found in her car in northwest Indiana.
The Porter County Sheriff’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team was called about 11:30 a.m. to the area near Woodruft Drive and Division Road near Center Township for reports of a possible pipe bomb in a vehicle, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office.
Katrina Franzen, 32, of Valparaiso, was charged with a felony count of possession of a destructive device after police found a pipe bomb on the passenger side floor of her black 2011 Hyundai, the sheriff’s office said.
Franzen said the pipe bomb was her ex-boyfriend’s, and she had been traveling with it in her car for two weeks. Franzen said she planned to take it to a friend’s house to “make it safe,” police said.
Division Road was reopened Saturday afternoon after being closed from County Road 250 W to County Road 325 W when “the device” was rendered safe, the sheriff’s office said.
A few nearby homes were evacuated, and other residents in the area were advised to stay inside their homes while the disposal team worked.
“The incident is still under investigation, however there is no reason to believe this subject had any intention of driving to a crowded area or specific location to cause harm with the item,” the sheriff’s office said.
“At this time there is not reason to believe there are additional devices or that there is any further threat to the public,” the sheriff’s office added.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire – Copyright Chicago Sun-Times 2017.)
WLS-TV contributed to this report.
via: http://abc7chicago.com/police-woman-charged-after-pipe-bomb-found-in-her-car/2397290/