Bomb Squad Detonates Suspicious Device Strapped To RV
November 21, 2007 by national
Filed under Homeland Security News
Interesting story out of Contra Costa County.
A suspicious device that caused an evacuation in the unincorporated township of Knightsen in east Contra Costa County on Wednesday has been detonated, said a sheriff’s spokeswoman.
Even so, residents have not been allowed back in their homes.
A bomb squad with the Walnut Creek Police Department arrived at 60 Broadway in Knightsen to investigate a possible explosive device found in a motor home, sheriff spokesman Jimmy Lee said.
The device was found at about 1:30 p.m. by a man who saw what he thought looked like dynamite in a residential motor home, Lee said. It was detonated in a safe area about four hours later.
It is unclear what the device is.
Residents within a one-mile radius of the Broadway residence have been evacuated from their homes and directed to the Delta Vista Middle School on Frank Hengel Way near East Cypress Road, Lee said.
Evacuees were notified by an emergency telephone alert system that called 220 households in the area, Lee said. Residents who did not receive the call do not have to evacuate, he added.
Walnut Creek is the only city in Contra Costa County that has a bomb team at its disposal, Mark Covington of Walnut Creek police said. The team was sent out after receiving a request from the sheriff’s department, which is managing the incident.
The reporting party described four sticks of dynamite tied to a motor home at 60 Broadway in Knightsen.
The device was found at about 1:30 p.m. by a man who saw what he thought looked like dynamite in a residential motor home, Lee said.
It is unclear what the device is, he said.
Residents within a 1-mile radius of 60 Broadway are being evacuated from their homes and are being directed to the Delta Vista Middle School on Frank Hengel Way near East Cypress Road, Lee said.
Evacuees were notified by an emergency telephone alert system that called 220 households in the area, Lee said.
Residents who did not receive the call do not have to evacuate, he added.
On Wednesday afternoon a robot approached the camper to investigate the possible explosive device.
