Alabama Man Dies from Homemade Explosives

A Dothan man died last week after mixing explosive chemicals in his shed.

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The man, William Harrison, was reported by WDHN to be a Vietnam veteran and former fertilizer company employee.

The accident occurred when Harrison and his neighbor Durey Kent were combining farm chemicals to create explosives for use around their property.

Houston County Sheriff Donald Valenza gave more details.

"He was making devices. More or less a homemade bomb," Valenza said, "to drop in the ponds to clear the bottom out. And at some point, it unexpectedly detonated and killed Mr. Harrison."

How did Harrison even get ahold of the explosives?

Sheriff Valenza explained that the chemicals used to make the bomb weren't illegal, just highly explosive. WDHN reported that the bomb set off "3 to four explosions in the shed."

In between these explosions, Harrison's neighbor Durey Kent ran to check on him. Kent recounted that he saw Harrison in the shed after the first explosion, but a second explosion sent him flying backwards and resulted in severe burns.

WTVY reported that Ken was taken to "an out-of-town burn center" for treatment from the explosion.

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Sheriff Valenza warned Alabama citizens who might experiment with homemade explosives like this.

"I recommend don't fool with it," he said to WDHN. "A lot of times you don't get a second chance."