HARRISBURG, NC — Authorities are still searching for the person responsible for leaving an item that looked like a homemade explosive device in a Harrisburg neighborhood.
The bomb squad was called in for several hours. The community pool was shut down.
The family that found the device talked with WCCB Charlotte about the incident.
Jen Wylie and family were walking on the Rocky River Crossing neighborhood trail when her husband kicked something in the grass. It turned out to be a suspicious package.
“We called the sheriff’s office, and it turned into this big ordeal,” says Jen Wylie.
Deputies came out and found the package. It appeared to be a homemade explosive device.
“The officers on the scene dictated that it probably needed the next level of response, and that’s what got the Cabarrus County Bomb Squad on the scene,” says Chief Bryan Dunn of Harrisburg.
“I was really surprised. You know on Memorial Day too. It’s kind of crazy,” says Jonathan Masiello, who lives in the neighborhood.
The area around the neighborhood pool was taped off, and authorities evacuated seven homes. Then the bomb squad sent in the robot.
“They went and examined the package, and then determined that the best way to mitigate the situation was to blow it,” says Chief Dunn.
“When they detonated the bomb, I was kind of scared. I was like, ‘Did the bomb actually go off, or did something else happen?” says Masiello. “That was the only part that really freaked me out.”
The whole ordeal took about five hours. Authorities are calling it a hoax device, but the response was full force.
“We always want to take these very seriously, and that’s what we did today,” says Chief Dunn.
The Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office will now take over the investigation to determine where the suspicious package came from.
