Briefcase bomb threat ends with just a fizzle
By Kenneth Fine
Published in News on November 3, 2011 1:46 PM
News-Argus/STEVE HERRING
A small black briefcase left next to a gas line outside a check cashing business prompted the evacuation of stores along Ash Street late this morning -- and a response from the 4th Fighter Wing Explosive Ordnance Disposal flight. Members of the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base unit were mobilized at 10 a.m. after local law enforcement officials feared a bomb had been placed in front of the shop. But after nearly an hour of investigation -- first by a robot used by the airmen to dispose of explosives at home and abroad; then by a member of the unit -- the briefcase was opened and found to contain no harmful material.
A small black briefcase left next to a gas line outside a check cashing business prompted the evacuation of stores along Ash Street late this morning -- and a response from the 4th Fighter Wing Explosive Ordnance Disposal flight.
Members of the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base unit were mobilized at 10 a.m. after local law enforcement officials feared a bomb had been placed in front of the shop.
But after nearly an hour of investigation -- first by a robot used by the airmen to dispose of explosives at home and abroad; then by a member of the unit -- the briefcase was opened and found to contain no harmful material.
Thursday's event marks the sixth time EOD airmen have been called on by officials outside the gate this year.
In January, a pipe bomb was found by a Department of Correction cleanup crew along U.S. 70, just two miles west of the Rosewood Walmart near Riverbend Road.
And just a month later, the unit was mobilized again when an envelope containing a cellular phone prompted the lockdown of the area immediately surrounding two post office drop boxes located near the intersection of Eastgate and Cashwell Drives.
Then, in June, another unexpected find prompted a response -- when David and Susan Crooks started working to restore an antique sewing machine, they discovered what was later identified as a live grenade that dates back to World War I.
And just a few weeks ago, airmen were called on by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office Dive Team when, in a search for stolen guns, they discovered a live mortar round.
But the threat that created the biggest stir unfolded the day after the 10th anniversary of 9/11, when more than 100 people were evacuated from the Wayne County Courthouse after a device that appeared to be a bomb was found on the property.