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Woman arrested with 9 homemade bombs in backpack following string of fires in North Texas

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Published  February 23, 2026 9:11am CST
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 4
article

Molotov cocktails sits inside the barricade which surrounds the Donetsk Regional Administration building on April 18, 2014 in Donetsk, Ukraine (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The Brief

    • A woman was taken into custody Saturday after a Commerce police officer spotted a fire at Centennial Park and discovered nine homemade bombs, a lighter and other manufacturing materials inside her backpack.
    • The suspect, identified as Jamia Howell, reportedly admitted to "testing" the devices, known as Molotov cocktails, following a series of fires in the Commerce area that began on Feb. 19.
    • Howell faces charges of arson and possession of a prohibited weapon.

COMMERCE, Texas - A woman was arrested over the weekend after police allegedly caught her "testing" homemade bombs following a string of fires in Commerce, authorities said.

Police find 9 homemade bombs in backpack after Texas woman's arrest

Jamia Howell (Commerce Police Department)

What we know:

Since Feb. 19, police have been investigating a series of fires reported across the city over a three-day span. On Saturday night, a patrol officer spotted a fire at Centennial Park and observed a woman leaving the immediate area.

Officers detained the woman, identified as Jamia Howell, and discovered nine homemade bombs inside her backpack. Investigators also recovered a lighter and other materials used to manufacture explosive devices.

Howell was taken into custody and transported to the Commerce Police Department. She is charged with arson and possession of a prohibited weapon. Police said additional charges are possible as the investigation continues.

Local perspective:

Commerce is located approximately 70 miles northeast of Dallas.

What is a Molotov Cocktail?

Dig deeper:

According to investigators, Howell admitted to manufacturing and testing "Molotov bombs" around the city.

Commonly known as a Molotov cocktail, the bomb is typically a glass bottle filled with flammable liquid and a cloth wick. When the wick is lit and the bottle is thrown, the glass shatters on impact, igniting the fuel.

The term was coined by Finnish soldiers during the Winter War (1939–1940) as a sarcastic tribute to Vyacheslav Molotov, the Soviet foreign minister at the time.

The Source: Information in this article comes from the Commerce Police Department and research by Harvard University.

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