A dangerous act of vandalism has created a problem for visitors to the Augusta Boat Launch area and a cost to the city to fix the damage.
According to Augusta Police Officer Harry Brooks, sometime during Independence Day celebrations in the city, an explosive device was set off in the men's room side of the public restroom at the boat launch/park area.
“We were helping with traffic control and parking, when one of the volunteer firefighters approached us and said a commode had been blown up in the building,” Brooks said. “It must have been something like an M-80, which is designed to explode under water, because of the amount of damage it did.”
City officials estimated the handicap accessible commode will cost around $250 to replace, Brooks said.
Whatever the device was, it was obviously an illegal explosive device and dangerous, he said.
“We were very lucky nobody got hurt when that thing exploded,” Brooks said, noting the porcelain shards and pieces of the commode were possible projectiles during the explosion.
“What if someone had walked in there just as it went off?” Brooks added.
There were reports of youths running from the area around the time of the explosion, and interviews are being conducted, he said. City officials said they had to order a new commode, so the restroom at the boat launch is closed, at least through Tuesday.
Anyone with information on the incident should contact APD at: (606) 756-3296.
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