A 15-year-old boy who lost his hand after a homemade explosive device blew up in his bedroom in western Sydney has been charged, police say.
Investigators allege the teenager was making the device in his bedroom in Seven Hills on June 30, when it exploded, seriously injuring him. No one else was hurt.
Police alleged that when bomb squad specialists searched the bedroom, they found five more homemade devices and several railway detonators.
"Anybody who thinks that playing around with these detonators is just mucking about - it's not. He's lost his hand and it could have been far worse," Detective Sergeant Adam Wilson, Blacktown Local Area Command's crime manager, said.
"Charging him was not a decision that we took lightly, but on the balanced view of the fact that he had a number of detonators plus five other devices that he manufactured, we're saying that it's not mere curiosity and that it goes beyond that. Taking the formal action was a serious step, but this is something that's a serious public safety issue."
The boy was charged with possessing explosives for unlawful purposes and negligently handling explosives to cause a person injury. He was issued with a notice to appear in Parramatta Children's Court on October 2.
