OHP, El Reno Police Search For Homemade Bomb Suspect

A homemade bomb caused damage at an El Reno park early Monday. Now, OHP and local police are trying to track down who caused it to go off.

Police say no one was hurt, and the bomb never actually exploded. But it did cause a fire that brought down a 70-foot tree.

Malik Boland-Pickett, a ten-year-old boy, spent Tuesday afternoon shooting hoops with his mom and sister, just feet away from where a bomb sparked the fire.

"I used to climb that tree sometimes," Malik said. "Just thinking about it … I think I'm about to cry."

El Reno fire chief Kent Lagaly says the destroyed tree was one of the largest in the park.

"It had been burning for quite a while," Lagaly said.

Just before 4:30 a.m. Monday, police noticed smoke at Frank Knight Park. An officer soon discovered it was from a calking tube bomb.

"That tube appeared to have some type of pellets loaded in the front end with some packing behind it," Lagaly said. "Never have I seen or heard about devices like that."

Lagaly says the bomb baffled OHP and local police. Troopers from the bomb squad x-rayed the tube and found no additional threat.

"It was the first time I've been able to see something like that on an x-ray," Lagaly said. "It'll take your breath away."

No one was at the park when the fire was sparked. The only life lost was a tree about as old as Oklahoma.

"It's going to take another 100 years to get a tree like that back," Lagaly said.

Police have been canvassing the neighborhood around the park asking questions. If you have any information on the crime, El Reno police want you to pick up the phone and give them a call.

Lagaly suspects a child actually made the bomb. He says the city has had problems with firework bombs in the past.