Report: Bomb strapped to teen in Australia

SYDNEY - A police bomb squad was examining a suspicious device near a young woman in a suburban Sydney home late Wednesday, and authorities said they were limiting information about the case because it was "very sensitive."

New South Wales state Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Murdoch would not comment on reports the device had been strapped to her by someone she did not know or confirm whether the device had been placed in the house as part of an extortion attempt. When asked if police had been in contact with a person believed to have left the device in the house, Murdoch said "No."

"There's a device in the house in the vicinity of the young woman. That device is still being examined as we speak," he told reporters. "We are treating the device as live until we know otherwise."

Police said they were called to the house in the wealthy suburb of Mosman by an 18-year-old woman around 2:30 p.m. Eight hours later, officials still had not determined whether the device was an explosive.

"Clearly what's transpired tonight is a very painstaking and very intricate operation for police," Murdoch said. "The mere fact that we've been here as long as we have and we have yet to resolve this incident attests to that fact."

Surrounding homes were evacuated, several streets were closed to traffic and medical and fire crews were on standby.

Four specialists, including police negotiators and bomb disposal experts, were inside the house helping to keep the woman calm as they examined the device, Murdoch said.

"It is proving a tough nut to crack for us to determine exactly what it is and what it is not," he said.

Murdoch refused to describe the device or release further details, though police did say they do not consider the case an incident of "self-harm."

"There are operational reasons for playing our cards pretty close to our chest," Murdoch said. "The young lady is fine and doing her best to assist the police to find out exactly what's gone on."

When asked whether he would describe the situation as an extortion or armed robbery, Murdoch would only say: "It's a very serious incident where the life of a young lady is potentially at risk."

Murdoch said he had no way of knowing how long it would take officials to resolve the situation.

Murdoch appealed for members of the public to call police with any information of suspicious activity around the house earlier Wednesday.

The woman's parents were with police outside the house and were being updated on the situation.

"They're caring loving parents and they're obviously concerned about their daughter," Murdoch said. "They're holding up OK but as you would expect they're doing it pretty rough."

The use of a "collar bomb," while not confirmed by authorities in this case, is not unheard of. In August 2003, pizza delivery man Brian Wells walked into a PNC bank with an explosive device locked onto his neck. He walked out with $8,072 but was stopped by police nearby. They put him in handcuffs and waited for a bomb squad to arrive. Before it did, the bomb exploded, killing Wells.

Prosecutors later revealed that they believed the crime had been plotted by five people. Wells was in on it, at least at first, and probably only realized at the last moment that his life was in danger, they said.

Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, 61, was convicted in 2010 after fellow conspirator Kenneth Barnes pleaded guilty and testified against her. One of the other suspects died of cancer during the investigation and another was killed by Diehl-Armstrong.

Diehl-Armstrong was sentenced to life in prison. Barnes is currently serving a 45-year sentence.