Two Inverness youths, ages 15 and 16, are facing felony charges after allegedly making and exploding a chemical bomb on Tuesday.

No one was injured in the incident, which occurred in an area of Citrus High School and the adjacent primary school.

A witness told a Citrus County Sheriff's Office deputy that he was walking his children in the area between the two schools when he heard a loud bang. He also told the officer he realized that someone had used aluminum foil to place some type of chemical substance into a plastic drinking bottle, which caused the bottle to explode.

The witness told the deputy he saw one of the two boys duck around a corner at the high school. The witness questioned the youth, who admitted to placed the explosive on the ground near where the witness had been standing. A second youth appeared and also admitted to taking part in the explosion.

Both boys were taken by the school resource officer to the principal's office, where they admitted to taking part in the incident. The boys said they went to an Inverness store and purchased aluminum foil and a well-known chemical cleaner, placed the chemical into a plastic bottle they got from a school vending machine, and then placed the bottle in a grassy area between the two schools. The boys said they never intended to harm anyone.

The idea for making the device, the youths said, came from friends and advice found on the Internet. One of the boys said the chemicals used were in his backpack he took to school. The other boy admitted to helping purchase the materials for the chemical bomb, and then helping with the chemicals at school.

Both youths were arrested and taken to the Citrus County jail for further processing. Both were later released to their parents.

CCSO spokeswoman Gail Tierney said that these types of homemade explosive devices have the potential for being highly dangerous.