Two boys injured in explosion in Oxford; police working to pin down cause

  • Two boys suffered traumatic injuries after an explosion
  • The boys were flown to a hospital in Cincinnati
  • Boys' conditions are unknown

One 12-year-old boy suffered traumatic injuries and another 12-year-old was injured as well, although less severe, in an explosion Tuesday night in Oxford so loud that nurses at a nearby hospital heard it, Oxford police Lt. Lara Fening said.

As of Wednesday morning, officials say they have not been made aware of either of the boys conditions, or whether they’ve improved from their injuries.

"The evidence that's there, we don't know what it is," she said. "We just don't know what set this thing off, whatever it is."

Fening said police received a call about 7:45 p.m. to send officers and medics to the rear of the 100 block of East  Withrow Street, the location of the Delta Chi fraternity house and near the Miami University campus.

McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital is right down the street as well, she said, which is where nurses told police they could hear the explosion from the emergency room.

Police and medics arrived to find one of the boys suffering from traumatic injuries. He was flown to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. His condition was not immediately known.

The other boy was being treated at McCullough-Hyde, Fening said. His condition also was not known.

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Both boys had been riding their bicycles before the explosion, she said, and police believe they may not have been in the neighborhood where they live.

Witnesses saw them on their bikes, she said, but no one witnessed the explosion.

Though police have no idea what caused the explosion, Fening said she has no reason to believe there is any risk to public safety.

Investigators were still on scene at midnight, she said.

We will update this developing report as we learn more.

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