Swampscott boy injured in explosion

SWAMPSCOTT – A 13-year-old boy was seriously injured in an explosion Thursday after he tried to build an improvised explosive device at his Melvin Avenue home, police said.Police would not release the boy’s name but neighbors said his first name is Joel and lives at 92 Melvin Ave., on the Lynn city line, with a younger sister, brothers and his father.Emergency personnel resp-onded to the home at about 5 p.m. on a report that a boy severely injured his hand after some type of an explosion.Neighbor Joanne Schumann says she saw Joel walking in the street before paramedics arrived.”He was white as a sheet,” Schumann said. “All I saw was that big red hand.”A boy who identified himself as a friend of the victim, but did not want his name used in the newspaper, says the victim is a student at the Swampscott Middle School.According to police, the victim’s injuries are not life threatening and no one else was injured at the home. He was reportedly undergoing surgery at Mass. General Hospital last night.Police were seen questioning another teenage boy at the home shortly after the explosion occurred.Investigators are wondering if residents of 92 Melvin Ave. are also responsible for another loud explosion that was reported on Saturday. The vibrations set off several car alarms in the neighborhood, police said.”Investigators are determining if the same person was responsible for each explosion and the possibility of criminal charges,” Det. Sgt. Tim Cassidy wrote in a statement. “No parties were identified on (Saturday).”Schumann says her young neighbor was an artist who created several paintings.”I’ve seen his paintings,” Schumann said. “This is rough. He’s a good kid.”