Teenager severely injured after attempting stunt seen online

SWAMPSCOTT, Mass. -- A high school student from Swampscott is seriously hurt while attempting a stunt made popular on the Internet.

Jaren Richard, 15, and his friends mixed alcohol and chlorine together in a plastic bottle on Wednesday, after getting directions online.

The victim was allegedly both badly blinded and burned during the reaction.

"The police were the ones who informed him and myself of how powerful it was," said Jaren's mother, Dianne Richard. "It's a bomb. They actually created a bomb, and by capping it, the explosion... it was as powerful as a shotgun."

The sweatshirt Jaren was wearing apparently saved the boy's life, according to Dianne Richard.  

Seeing Jaren injured, his friends immediately retrieved a hose to rinse out his eyes.

However, it may be between one to six months before Jaren's eyes are completely healed.
"My eyes kind of sting," said Jaren, talking to 7NEWS while recovering at home.

Police say the teen found out the hard way the stunt is something you should definitely not try at home. Authorities hope that other kids will learn from Jaren's experience before they try to create any homemade bombs from instructions off the Internet.

"It could be anyone's son or daughter," said Det. Sgt. Tim Cassidy, of the Swampscott Police Department. "It's unfortunate what's on the Internet now, and these kids want to experiment, like typical teenage boys do."

Police are still investigating this incident, but they have not ruled out the possibility that charges could be filed in this case.

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