While Rugo was sitting on his bed, patiently stirring the home-made explosives, Jetton decided to go to the computer in his bedroom, probably the best decision of all in this story. Rugo followed the formula he got off the internet and decided to add some aluminum and Thermite to the mixture. Now, TATP is very sensitive to friction. Also, TATP becomes a little more unstable with the addition of aluminum and Thermite. Two very bad ways to treat your TATP.

A large explosion rocked Apartment 2009. Matthew Rugo was killed instantly as the explosives detonated in front of him, ending his chances of propogating the species. Curtis Lee Jetton was thrown in the bathroom nearby and spared the fate of his friend.

Upon their arrival, the local fire department learned that not only had they been making explosives, these two had been busy little beavers. They were storing their ingredients for making TATP in containers in the apartment along with a diluted mixture of TATP in a quart bottle and some home-made detonators. The unstable mixture was too volatile to move, so a hazardous materials team was called in to detonate the explosives in the already ravaged apartment.

Federal investigators discovered three things in all of this: 1.) These two were clearly not terrorists. They lacked intent and intelligence. 2.) The formula obtained off the internet was faulty. 3.) Jetton was supposed to be Rugo's "student" in the art of making explosives. We're hoping he'll take away a very important lesson from all this

Submitted on 07/26/2006

Submitted by: Matthew Phillips
Reference: Galveston Daily News---7/25/06

Copyright © 2006 DarwinAwards.com

James said:
Neutral: Darwin Award
I'm giving this the nod for the sheer volume and volatility of the homemade explosives (and for the fact that these two were complete dilletantes). If moderator Jack is onboard, maybe he can shed some further light on this as our resident explosives expert...

Fitzroy said:
Maybe Toss: Not Amusing
I'm softening about this incident. This submission contains new information, but the earliest occurence of one on this event that I can recall is http://darwinawards.com/reject/new/pending20060720-171020.html . . . there is additional information there. My thinking is still that this was such a shock to the community that it is akin to an incident where bystanders were hurt, but no doubt the additional informatino is appreciated.

Jorge said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award

Sheryl said:
Neutral: Not Amusing
I'm really neutral on this one. I can't see the funny side of it, although these guys were lucky not to have blown up the entire apartment complex. Internet recipes are notoriously inaccurate, so there has to be some stupidity involved for them to believe in one anyway.

Graham said:
Maybe Toss: Other
Houston News sources say the pair may have belonged to a local, four-member group which professes its hatred for the American government. As this explosive is relatively simple to make, and was used in the recent London bus bombings, I wonder if we'd be amiss in including this. We wouldn't want readers to find out for themselves how easy TACP is to make in your own apartment! Fortunately, no-one else was injured in this blast, but it could have been disastrous.

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