Police: ‘Loud boom’ in Will County was men shooting explosive targets

A loud boom that rocked southwest suburban Will County on Thanksgiving was actually two men shooting rifles at an explosive target in an unincorporated Green Garden Township farm field.

Officers were dispatched shortly before noon to the call of a boom and a possible explosion on Manhattan-Monee Road near Center Road, according to Will County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Tom Budde.

When authorities arrived, they realized there was no actual explosion, but two men were firing rifles at Tannerite, an exploding target that can be legally purchased at sporting good stores, Budde said.

“They were in a farm field, fairly far away from any residential areas, so it was lawful for them to shoot out there,” Budde said, adding that the men, one of whom is a science teacher, have valid FOID cards.

Officers suspect the men had doubled or tripled the amount of Tannerite. The sheriff’s office received at least two calls from the area from “some pretty scared neighbors,” Budde said.

“Obviously when we arrived we told them to stop for the day, so they’re done,” he added. No charges have been filed in connection with the incident.

In March 2013, an FBI Intelligence Bulletin warned that exploding targets can be “combined with other materials to manufacture explosives for use in improvised explosive devices (IEDs).”