Firecracker Explodes In French Schoolyard

A large firecracker exploded in a crowded schoolyard Thursday, provoking fears of another terrorist attack.

A steel tube packed with explosives went off while most of the 810 students at the Jules Verne junior high school in Les Mureaux, 20 miles northwest of Paris, were outside for recess.

Police initially thought the device was a bomb, but later said it was a homemade firecracker meant to frighten, not kill.

Thirteen students were treated at a hospital for shock and possible hearing damage, and the force of the blast blew out several window panes at the school.