HORN LAKE, MS (abc24.com) - A meth lab was discovered only steps away from the Horn Lake police station. Officers found it in a home on Tuesday, January 31st after the lab exploded and the whole place went up in flames.
Those responsible ran off, leaving cops and the fire department with a burning mess.
"Stuff started exploding," said Toya Canada. "The only thing you heard was a big boom. You heard it over five times. I was like what is it?"
Neighbors soon learned it was a meth lab exploding. Cops said the drug was being cooked in the kitchen of a house on Normandy Drive when it caught on fire about four o'clock in the morning Tuesday.
"While firemen were putting the fire out they came across a shake and bake meth lab," said Lt. Scott Evans with the Horn Lake Police Department.
'Shake and bake' means combining all the chemicals needed to make meth in a bottle. It's very volatile and can easily explode.
"They probably could have blown themselves up," Evans told abc24.com.
"Right across the street," said Canada. "We have kids right here. Kids in this house, kids up and down the block."
Canada said her brother saw people run out of the burning home. They haven't been seen since.
"We found several different types of identification for several different people inside the house," Evans said. "We're trying to follow up right now.'
But cops don't have any suspects.
Canada said the home's owner has been away the past two weeks, but she's seen a woman and two men coming and going.
"We thought they were relatives or someone just moving in. It's crazy," she said. "It surprised me, a meth lab right across the street? Who would have known? And the police station is right there."
"Just because it's close to the police department doesn't mean they won't try it," Evans said.
In fact, this lab is one of several meth labs cops have found in the area.
If you know anything about the suspects, call CrimeStoppers at (662) 429-TIPS.
