--- description: Police say they found two “complete, fully functional and ready to be used" homemade bombs, packed with shrapnel, being stored at a school. title: Police Defuse Homemade Bombs Stored at Hong Kong School image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Hong Kong topic](/tag/hong-kong/) ## Hong Kong topic Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Police Defuse Two Homemade Bombs Being Stored at a Hong Kong High School ## Video: 'We Have to Keep Fighting.' Thousands of Hongkongers March on Six-Month Protest Anniversary [Watch (HLS stream): 'We Have to Keep Fighting.' Thousands of Hongkongers March on Six-Month Protest Anniversary](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Jpols1KV.m3u8) (1:31)  _Published 2019-12-08. Hongkongers returned to the streets Sunday for a massive march displaying ongoing support for the antigovernment demonstrations that have seized the Chinese-ruled territory for six months._ by [AMY GUNIA / HONG KONG](/author/amy-gunia/) ## AMY GUNIA / HONG KONG Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. Dec 10, 2019 4:31 AM CUT by [AMY GUNIA / HONG KONG](/author/amy-gunia/) ## AMY GUNIA / HONG KONG Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. Dec 10, 2019 4:31 AM CUT Police in Hong Kong said they deactivated two [home-made bombs](https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3041331/bomb-disposal-officers-deployed-after-two-suspected "undefined") Monday that were being hidden at a high school. The bombs were “complete, fully functional and ready to be used” radio-controlled improvised explosive devices (IEDs), police told local media. “These devices had only one function — to kill and maim people,” Alick McWhirter, a senior bomb disposal officer, said at a press conference late on Monday night. The devices — which contained about 22 pounds of two different types of explosives — were reportedly found by a janitor at the prestigious private school Wah Yan College. Officers said they believe the devices were being hidden at the school and were not intended to be used there. The school [said](https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3041353/hong-kong-bombs-school-where-ieds-were-found-says-no "undefined") there was no evidence linking the bombs to students or staff members. **Read More:**[_Anti-Government Protests Have Rocked Hong Kong for Six Months. Here’s a Look Back at the Major Developments_](https://time.com/5746275/hong-kong-protests-six-months-anniversary/ "undefined") Detonators made from cell phones connected to circuit boards were also found. The devices were full of shrapnel, and had a range of 164 to 328 feet. “There was also a large amount of nails to upgrade the power to kill the people around,” Senior Superintendent Li Kwai-wah told local media. The discovery of the homemade bombs follows the seizure of [a semi-automatic pistol](https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1496557-20191208.htm?spTabChangeable=0 "undefined"), five magazines and over 100 bullets, and other weapons, that police say were to be used by protesters during a large [weekend march](https://time.com/5746027/hong-kong-protest-chrf-march-six-months/ "undefined") marking the six-month anniversary of the anti-government protests. Hong Kong’s protests have become increasingly violent in recent months. 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