Garland police confirm multiple live pipe bombs were found in a city park. Police and federal agents spent the past 24 hours clearing the scene and checking it before reopening it to local residents. NBC 5’s Alicia Barrera updates us on the investigation into the explosives that were discovered on Sunday.
Multiple live bombs were found in Wynne Park Sunday morning, police said. The bombs have since been rendered "inoperative".
Garland Police were called to a wooded area of Wynne Park around 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
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WATCH HERE“We were advised that there was a citizen that was actually going through the park and observed a suitcase that was open and there were several items and scattered about,” Garland public information officer Lt. Pedro Barineau said. “Among the items, there appeared to be explosive devices, pipe bombs.”
The bombs were found about 100 yards from the walking trail, police said. After confirming the reports, officers notified their bomb unit as well as FBI bomb technicians.
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SIGN UP “We made sure that the residents in the North neighborhood were made aware. They locked down the area and they began the process of rendering each device safe, which was a long process,” Barineau said. “It went all the way through the day as well as early into the morning this morning before every single device was actually evaluated and rendered safe.”
Some walkers said they were not aware of the investigation or danger in the area until they were feet away from authorities.
“We just got back in town from college, we were just going to walk around and we saw this,” Chloe Corder said. Corder is from the area and came for a walk with her friend James Martinez.
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“It’s a shock because, like so many people, walk here,” Martinez said. “You'd never expect something like this to happen in the area.”
While the devices have been deactivated, police said there are questions about how long the devices had been at Wynne Park.
“It could be several days, or it can be less than that. So, that’s still part of the investigation,” Barineau said.
Police said they are analyzing what materials were used to make the homemade explosives and where they were purchased.
“If they were bought at a store or a specialty shop,” Barineau said.
On Monday afternoon, an ATF explosives detection canine made its rounds along the trail.
“If there is something that ties to an actual explosive device that does not belong in that area, that dog will alert to that,” Barineau said. “In addition to that, we have the investigators actually canvassing the entire area away from where the actual devices were located to make sure that if there's something that we didn't find last night, we will hope to find it today.”
Authorities cleared the area just before 4 p.m. Monday; however, the entrance to Wynne Park is closed.
The focus now shifts to obtaining surveillance video to identify a vehicle or the persons involved.
Anyone with information related to this case is encouraged to contact the Garland Police Department at (972) 485-4840 or submit tips anonymously through Garland Crime Stoppers at (972) 272-TIPS (8477).
Garland Crime Stoppers offers rewards of up to $5,000 for information leading to arrests or indictments.
