The Nation - News from May 19, 1986
A bomb that exploded as a heavily armed couple held 167 children and adults hostage in an elementary school in Cokeville, Wyo., was only partially detonated, officials said. “There were seven blasting caps that didn’t go off,” said Cokeville Elementary School Principal Max Excell, who acted as an intermediary between the authorities and David and Doris Young during the standoff on Friday. The Youngs died, and 79 people were injured. “They (the caps) were attached to powder that would have exploded like a grain elevator,” said Excell, speaking to the congregation at the Cokeville Mormon meeting house.
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