Homemade bombs found on Swampscott beach

By Casey Ramsdell, Globe Correspondent

Police are trying to determine who assembled two homemade explosive devices that were found this week by a woman walking on Fisherman's Beach in Swampscott.

The devices were tennis balls filled with black powder and wrapped in duct tape. Each had a wick, which would have been used to light them, said Robert Faulkner, a Swampscott Fire Department investigator.

The devices were found Monday by a resident of Puritan Road, which runs along the beach. The woman brought the devices to her home and put them on her front porch. She later put them in a plastic bag and placed them at the front of her property, said Faulkner.

The woman called police Wednesday evening to report the devices after a friend urged her to do so. Police called the Fire Department, which dispatched investigators. After realizing the situation, the department called the State Police bomb squad, Faulkner said.

Houses and a gas station in the immediate area were evacuated while the bomb squad dismantled the devices. The devices have been shipped to the State Police crime lab.

Police have no leads on who could be responsible, said Detective Sergeant Tim Cassidy.

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