Pipe Bomb Found, Disabled at Fountain Valley High School

A pipe bomb was discovered and dismantled Friday afternoon in the gymnasium of Fountain Valley High School, authorities said.

Police and fire squads responded to reports of a small fire in the boys’ locker room at the school shortly after 3:30 p.m., said police Sgt. Kevin Thomas. Firefighters opened a smoking locker and found two small fires and a metal pipe with a cap on one end, Thomas said. It appears that the fires were intended to ignite the apparent pipe bomb, he said.

Hundreds of students participating in after-school activities were evacuated as members of the Orange County sheriff’s bomb squad entered the locker room. After more than an hour, they determined that the device was a pipe bomb and disabled it.

School officials turned down requests for comment, and Thomas declined to provide details on the bomb. No one had been arrested or was being questioned, he said.