News and HeadlinesWorking For You

Actions

Firework fears igniting in Johnson County neighborhood after explosive incidents on residential street

Fireworks exploding on Ring Doorbell camera of homeowner
Posted
and last updated

JOHNSON COUNTY — Firework fears are igniting in one Johnson County neighborhood after several instances of large explosives being set off along one street in Kensington Grove.

Courtney Worley is a resident in the typically quiet neighborhood in the Center Grove Community.

She shared a video of a recent explosive attack on her Nextdoor page, saying this is why neighbors report hearing bombs go off.

These are not your typical grocery store fireworks," said Worley. "They're dangerous."

Firework fears igniting after explosives left on street in Johnson County

And this is not an isolated incident. Worley says these pranks or attacks have been happening along their street since this past fall.

In one instance, the tree in front of their home caught fire. The tree sits against their house and they had to call 911.

She says luckily they had fire extinguishers in their home and a garden hose hooked up nearby and were able to put out the flames.

"This has gone far beyond the parameters of a prank and into the realm of harassment and criminal activity," said Worley. "Especially considering my house could have caught fire if we hadn't been home."

The local fire marshal agrees that this is serious.

WRTV stopped by the fire station to meet with Fire Marshal Chris Meyers.

"Those hot ashes and stuff like that could be really tragic," said Meyers. "It sure could be a serious situation, ya know you are talking about property damage up to losing a house or seriously injuring a person or pet."

Myers adds these types of fireworks are designed to explode in the air by the professionals on the designated days, giving time for ash to cool in the sky not near the ground.

Worley says in the Nextdoor post that the white sedan you see driving from the most recent explosion scene is missing a piece of its side mirror on the driver's side, which they found in their street.

She and neighbors have filed several reports with the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, which is currently investigating the incident.

WRTV spoke with the investigator on this case, and he calls this an active investigations and says they are currently following up on leads.