ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — Decades ago, kids used to make trouble by taking a baseball bat to mailboxes. In one St. Johns County neighborhood, the tactics have become more extreme.
Mailboxes in the Julington Creek area of northern St. Johns County exploded last week. Pictures show them with their sides blown out.
The owner of one exploded mailbox said it was blown up at 4 a.m.
Others neighbors hear or experienced the same thing.
The St. Johns Count Sheriff’s Office is not releasing much information about the cases except to say juveniles possibly put firecrackers in mailboxes. The sheriff's office also said it appears to be an isolated incident.
Residents told First Coast News they know of four mailboxes that exploded in the neighborhood, all at around 4 a.m.
People said the noises were very loud. One victim told First Coast News a group of teenagers targeted certain mailboxes, though the sheriff's office has not confirmed this information.
The neighborhood is within miles of where 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey lived and was murdered. One neighbor with a background in law enforcement heard the explosion and thought it was actually a gunshot.
He said in light of Bailey's murder, he is concerned about what youth are doing in the area.
As of late Monday afternoon, the sheriff's office said no one had been arrested.