KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A Knoxville Police Department spokesperson said Monday that more than 500 pieces of commercial explosives and nearly 200 blasting caps were found at CMC Recycling near Western Avenue on October 10.
When the box was first found it was unclear how much explosive material was inside, however, the 911 caller estimated it to be around 200 sticks. KPD has now determined there to have been over 500 pieces of emulsion explosives, a commercial-grade explosive, and 194 blasting caps.
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At around 2:15 p.m. on October 10, KPD and the Knoxville Fire Department responded to CMC Recycling at 2706 Mynderse Avenue after employees discovered a “5×5 steel box” that was “actively emitting smoke.” The next day, October 11, KPD shared that samples of the materials inside the box tested positive for ammonia nitrate, which is consistent with dynamite.
Just after 10 p.m. on Oct 11, KPD shared that Bomb Squad technicians completely cleared the contents of the box and the explosives were rendered safe. KPD’s bomb squad along with the squads from Knox County and Nashville went about removing the explosives and incinerating it . At first, they planned to use robotics to pull the explosives out. However, due to the high number of blast caps in the box, the bomb squad technicians had to remove it by hand.