Crazed Japanese Bomber

For the love of God, can we put this boy behind prison walls for the rest of his life?

Insane Boy Tries to Kill Classmates: Schoolboy's scatter bomb made for maximum impact

HIKARI, Yamaguchi -- A handmade scatter bomb a schoolboy hurled into a classroom here Friday, injuring 58, had been constructed to have maximum impact, police said Saturday.

The handmade bomb used at Yamaguchi Prefectural Hikari High School had been reinforced with dozens of nails and metal shards that were designed to increase destructive power by flying over a wide area after it exploded.

The 18-year-old boy who threw the bomb was arrested for inflicting bodily injury immediately after the blast, but investigators are considering upgrading the charge against him to attempted murder as he claims to have borne a grudge against some of those in the classroom he allegedly bombed.

The Juvenile Law forbids the disclosure of the boy's identity because he is still a minor.

Police said the boy's bomb was made by stuffing gunpowder from fireworks into a glass soda bottle, then adding nails and metal shards. The boy even included nails bent at a 90-degree angle.

When the bomb exploded in the classroom, the small chunks of metal scattered around the room like shrapnel.

The boy is alleged to have made the bomb at his home, which police raided on Friday night, seizing his computer and documents.

Police also discovered that the fireworks the boy purportedly drained of their gunpowder had been purchased at several different locations throughout Hikari.

Investigators also found the boy's schoolbag in a second-floor boy's toilet. Police believe the boy made the bomb at home, carried it to school in his schoolbag and then readied it inside the toilet before unleashing it in the classroom.

Police finished questioning the boy at 3 p.m. Friday before resuming their investigation again on Saturday morning. During questioning, the boy has apparently become excited at times, raising his voice.

Hikari High School teachers arrived at the school from 8 a.m. Saturday in preparation for an emergency meeting later in the morning. (Mainichi)