Pittsburgh police investigate 2nd port-a-potty explosion in a week

Someone blew up a port-a-potty on Pittsburgh’s North Side sometime overnight into Tuesday morning, according to city police.

A construction crew on Itin Street in the city’s East Allegheny neighborhood reported the blown-up portable toilet to authorities around 7 a.m., according to Public Safety spokesman Maurice Matthews.

The bomb squad determined an explosive destroyed the toilet, Matthews said. A K-9 unit searched the area for other explosives but turned up nothing.

Police reported no injuries and no arrests. Itin Street was closed for a short time Tuesday morning.

Authorities investigated a similar incident last week in Lawrenceville.

In that incident, police responded about 3:30 a.m. to a home on Denny Street where a woman reported an explosion had damaged her home.

Officers discovered a port-a-potty across the street at a construction site had been blown apart, authorities said. The homeowner whose house was damaged told police she heard a loud boom that broke her window.

The city’s bomb squad and fire unit investigated that scene as well.

Investigators did not indicate whether they believe the incidents are connected.