Possible explosives in NC town lead to search for clues and increased reward, cops say

Simone Jasper

A possible explosive left on a porch over the weekend may be tied to a series of loud booms heard in the same North Carolina town, officials said.

The device was the second in a month that the Gibsonville Police Department said it suspected was made out of explosive materials.

Now, the department roughly 15 miles east of Greensboro has teamed up with the FBI and ATF to search for clues, according to a news release published Wednesday.

Richard Hall told WGHP he was at his home Saturday when he saw a plastic bag on his doorstep and peeked inside.

“It looked like a big firecracker, he said, according to the TV station. “I put it back down, folded it back up and went in the house to call the police.”

Officials said a bomb team was called to Wood Street, where a suspected explosive was found. People in the past six months have reported hearing shots, fireworks and other loud noises in the same area, according to police.

The latest discovery could be tied to past “explosions” and a possible explosive that was turned over to police on Jan. 25, officials wrote in Facebook posts.

Three days before that, the police department found “what appeared to be pieces of shrapnel” at the site of a reported explosion near Wood Street, according to a news release.

The reward for information about the person behind the devices now stands at $2,000. Anyone who sees a potential explosive should avoid touching it and call 911, according to authorities.

“The manufacturing, possession and/or detonation of these devices can result in serious injury or death, not only to the possessor, but to innocent people as well,” the police department said.

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