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Teen released from hospital after explosion at Michigan high school

The Newaygo Police Department said the student who brought and lit off an “explosive device” at Newaygo High School has been released to his family from the hospital and has been suspended from school. (WPBN) (WPBN)

NEWAYGO, Mich. – A student who lost both thumbs after his homemade explosive went off in a high school classroom has been released from a hospital, police in western Michigan said Wednesday.

The 16-year-old boy was suspended and will likely face expulsion proceedings in the Newaygo school district, Newaygo police said.

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The teen brought a homemade explosive to Newaygo High School and accidentally detonated it Monday, injuring himself, four other students and a teacher, police said.

The boy lost both thumbs, Newaygo County prosecutor Worth Stay said.

The boy's father was charged Tuesday with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and manufacture or possession of a Molotov cocktail after police searched his home.

A child welfare investigator, Jessica Held, told a judge that police don't believe the boy wanted to harm others.

He “brought it to school to show friends when it went off in his hands,” Held told a Newaygo County Probate Court judge Wednesday.

The judge said two kids living with the father, David Saylor, must be placed with their mother, MLive.com reported.

Newaygo is 35 miles (56.3 kilometers) north of Grand Rapids.


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