Flashlight Bombs: 22 Billboards in AZ Warn People Not to Turn on Discarded Flashlights

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These flashlights light it up, just not in the way you think.

To date, three flashlight bombs have exploded in the Phoenix area, causing minor injuries and fears of more serious injuries. In response to these unusual circumstances, authorities have taken the unusual measure of putting up 22 billboards warning people not to turn on discarded flashlights.

“The nature of the bombings are so random,” said Tom Mangan, a special agent at the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Phoenix.

The ATF has confirmed that the bombs appear to be made by the same people or person because the designs are identical.

From the Associated Press:

The first bomb was spotted by a passerby on May 13 in a suburb just west of Phoenix. It was sitting behind a palm tree in a strip mall and blew up when it was clicked on.

The next day, about 10 miles away, a landscaper found a flashlight in an irrigation ditch. It, too, exploded when he flicked the switch, authorities said.

The third bomb exploded on May 24 at a Salvation Army distribution center near downtown Phoenix and about 11 miles from the first one.