Youth Making Bomb Hurt in Explosion

A 17-year-old boy’s hands were severely injured Monday as he tried to make a pipe bomb in his home in Lancaster, a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy said.

The 11:30 a.m. explosion occurred as the unidentified boy stuffed parts of a firecracker into a plastic pipe, said Lt. Richard Lichten.

The boy, who also had pieces of plastic embedded in his chest, was airlifted to Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, where he was in fair condition, said spokeswoman Tiffany DeVall.

The explosion destroyed the kitchen of the house and deputies evacuated several homes in the area as a precaution, Lichten said.