Man injured while building pipe bomb

A 55-year-old Soap Lake man was hospitalized after being injured Friday evening by a pipe bomb he was building inside his home, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release Saturday.

Neighbors near the 100 block of Adrian Avenue Northwest in Lakeview called deputies around 6 p.m. to complain about the sound of fireworks, the sheriff’s office said. As deputies were investigating, staff at Ephrata’s Columbia Basin Hospital called to report that a man had been driven to the emergency room suffering from blast injuries and shrapnel wounds to his right hand and arm.

Deputies learned the man had been building and handling a pipe bomb inside his home on the 100 block of Adrian Avenue Northwest when it detonated. He was later flown to a Spokane hospital for treatment.

Deputies and the Spokane bomb squad gathered evidence and ensured no other explosive devices were inside the home.

The investigation continues.