Texas Man Booby-Traps Car Wash Toilets With Fireworks, Injures 3

A Texas man has been arrested and charged with hiding explosives under toilet seats at Bexar County car washes that went off and injured three people, one of them a child.

Police said that Paul Moses Alden booby-trapped toilet seats with commercial fireworks at two car washes. The booby-traps were desisgned to explode when pressure was applied, KENS reported.

Investigators said surveillance footage showed Alden going into and then leaving the restrooms, then watching from the lobby until the explosions took place and leaving the facility.

A customer, an employee, and a child all suffered minor injuries in the incidents, police said. The first incident took place at a Wash Tub in Helotes on July 20. A woman was injured, but she left before a report was made.

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Six days later, explosion injured two more people at another Wash Tub location. One was an employee, and the other was a young girl.

Investigators said they found identical evidence at both locations, from small, readily available fireworks.

Employees said they identified Alden because he was a regular customer who had a membership card.

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Alden was charged with arson with bodily injury and released on a $50,000 bond.

A court date has not been set.

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[Featured image: Paul Moses Alden/San Antonio Police Department]