WINONA, Minn. -
Winona County sheriff's officials say they've arrested a 17-year-old suspect in a July 17 pipe bomb incident at Rochester's Mayo Clinic.
The teen, James Bergan of St. Charles, Minn., was a patient at the hospital after a car accident. When his mother came to visit him, she reported to security her finding of a pipe bomb in the trunk of her car. The Bloomington bomb squad was called in to shut down the parking ramp and detonate the bomb. It was safely detonated off-site and no one was hurt.
Winona County authorities are involved because that's where the teen crafted the 3-foot-long pipe bomb, which contained gunpowder, fireworks and a fuse.
Bergan told investigators that he didn't intend to hurt anyone, and that he had made pipe bombs in the past at the Utica residence he rented with his mother. When investigators went to the family's new St. Charles home, they found evidence of pipe bombs that had been detonated.
The teen suspect will be in court at 2:30 p.m. Thursday. He is expected to be charged with possession of a dangerous explosive and dangerous weapon, international discharge of firearms – both felonies.
