'Placed intentionally to cause harm': Michigan city closes playgrounds after discovery of 41 razor blades

EATON RAPIDS, Mich. — A group of people at a Michigan playground discovered 39 razor blades on the equipment, prompting authorities to close playgrounds across the city, police said.

Officers recovered an additional two blades after they were called at about 4:40 p.m. Monday to the playground, according to a news release from the Eaton Rapids Police Department.

"Some of the blades appeared to have been placed intentionally to cause harm," police said on Facebook.

Witnesses told police they saw four teenagers, two boys and two girls, on the playground equipment, according to the release. They were about 17 or 18 years old and were last seen walking north away from the playground.

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The police department said other parks were checked "out of an abundance of caution" and additional blades were found "laying in the grass" at another park.

Later Tuesday, the police department wrote officers were able to inspect city parks and deemed them safe to reopen.

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"Although we have done everything in our ability to ensure the safety of the park spaces, please remember to always remain aware, alert and diligent about your surroundings," the department wrote.

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Police put out a call to the community for "large, construction-grade magnets" to help with inspecting parks for more blades. After the parks were declared safe to reopen, police thanked residents for helping with the search.

Cody Orr, who lives just down the street from Howe Park, was "magnet fishing" nearby when he saw uniformed officers in the park. He lent them some of his high-powered magnets to search for razor blades, he said.

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Orr said they found a box of 100 razor blades on a picnic table at the park. He said 20 of the razor blades were in a circle pattern out in the open and the others were hidden in the park.

"We've never had anything like this happen," Orr said. "Luckily, parents saw it before the kids went down the slides...I hope they find them and I hope they throw the book down."

The city is offering a $1,000 reward for anyone with information that leads to the arrest and conviction of a suspect or suspects.

"We are happy to announce that all parks have been canvased and we are confident that any hazardous objects have been removed from the parks," City Hall announced through the police department's Facebook page.

Follow Kara Berg on Twitter @karaberg95.

Contributing: Jordan Culver, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan city closes playgrounds after discovery of 41 razor blades