Suspicious device in Lake Forest Park turned out to be a commercial firework

Blue Heron Park photo by Mary Jo Heller

On Monday, April 1, 2024, just before noon, a citizen located a suspicious item at the Blue Heron Park, in Lake Forest Park. The citizen called 911 to report the suspicious item.

The citizen initially believed he was picking up after someone’s dog, however he came to believe that it was a potentially dangerous device. The citizen placed the item in a bucket and drove to Lake Forest Park city hall in his vehicle.

Officers immediately responded, and the police department closed the lower parking lot in front of the City Hall, the Chase Bank and the old Bank of America.

Officers removed the bucket from the vehicle to an isolated location of the parking lot by the former Bank of America branch. Bomb squad technicians from the King County Sheriff’s Office responded and safely took custody of the device. The parking lot was reopened just after 2:00pm.

The King County Sheriff's Office Bomb Unit was able to safely open the device. They determined that it was actually a "commercial mortar-type firework" which did not contain any kind of metal (like ball bearings, screws, nails, etc.) so it cannot be classified as an IED.

Police recommend that citizens not touch or manipulate any suspicious device, avoid using radio or cell phones near the device, and a get a safe distance away before calling 911.

Curt Hanks, who found the first homemade explosive and reported it to LFP Police last month says that "From the description, it sounds like this is very similar." The one he picked up looked like a "sparkler bomb" which is, more realistically, a very powerful firework.