Police Issue Warnings After 12 Acid Bombs Are Found : Crime: Most were discovered in Lakeside and Poway. The perpetrators and the motive are unknown to the sheriff.

A dozen acid bombs discovered throughout San Diego County during the last four days prompted the Sheriff’s Department on Wednesday to warn the public to keep an eye out for the bombs--and to stay away from them.

“Someone or some people in this county have the formula for making these acid bombs, and they’re spreading all over the county dumping these things,” said Sgt. Conrad Grayson of the sheriff’s bomb squad.

Contained in large plastic soda bottles, the bombs are set off when acid is combined with solid ingredients, triggering a chemical reaction that causes the plastic bottle to expand and then to explode, Grayson said. Police declined to give any specific information about the type or strength of acid involved, but said it could blind passersby.

“If you see a plastic container, and it appears to have objects in it, stay away and don’t touch it,” Grayson said. “Plastic flies out in all different directions, and the acid also spreads out in a 10- to 15-foot radius.”

In particular, Grayson recommended that parents warn their children to stay away from empty containers they might find while playing outside.

“They usually go up in a couple minutes, but there’s always the possibility one will go up when a kid is walking by,” Grayson said.

The warning comes after eight bombs were discovered in Lakeside over the weekend, six of which exploded. Three more bombs were found in Poway during the past two days, of which two exploded, Grayson said. Remnants of an exploded 12th bomb on Wednesday were delivered to the Oceanside Fire Department.

No injuries have been reported in the explosions, and no suspects have been identified, nor has a motive been established, Grayson said. Authorities have also not identified a trend among the locations where the bombs have been dropped off, which so far have focused in residential areas.

But a pair of acid bombs were discovered about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in the south parking lot of a Seventh-day Adventist Church in the 13000 block of Pomerado Road in Poway, Grayson said. One of the bombs had exploded, and the other was destroyed by a sheriff’s bomb squad.

The recent string of explosions has surprised county officials, who last remember a pair of acid bombs exploding about four years ago in Balboa Park, Grayson said.

In recent years, the San Francisco Bay Area has experienced a steady stream of acid bomb explosions, which appear to be targeted incidents.

Anyone who spots what appears to be an acid bomb should call their local police department, Grayson said. If anyone is hit by acid from an exploding bomb, a steady stream of water should be applied to the affected area to dilute the acid until authorities arrive.