Taking a tip from Boston's "if it blinks or makes noise, blow it up" policy for dealing with things that blink or make noise, police in Santa Fe, New Mexico blew up two CD players that had been taped under pews at the Roman Catholic Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.
The players were programmed to play sexually explicit language during Ash Wednesday mass.
The recordings, made on store-bought blank discs, featured people using foul language and "pornographic messages," [Capt. Gary] Johnson said. He would not elaborate because of the ongoing investigation.
Church staff members took the CD players to the basement and called police, who sent the bomb squad, Johnson said.
The bomb squad blew up two players outside and kept the third one to test for fingerprints or DNA and trace its components, he said.
There's no explanation why police didn't blow up all three players. It seems to me that they were taking a big chance by playing Russian Roulette like this.
Update:
Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, police discovered a — gasp! — tape dispenser in a rail station. You can guess what happened:
The Army carried out a controlled explosion on the object which was declared safe.
Traffic in the town was severely disrupted for several hours while the operation took place.
A police spokesperson said: "As with any object that cannot readily be accounted for, we have a duty to be wary in order to ensure the safety of all in the vicinity," they added.
