Homemade bomb found during Wyandotte traffic stop, 2 men arrested, police say
A homemade bomb was discovered during a traffic stop Wednesday night in Wyandotte, police say.
Police officers stopped a van about 10:40 p.m. in the area of Vinewood and 9th streets for minor reasons, a license plate violation among them, said Wyandotte Police Chief Archie Hamilton.
As the officers spoke to the two men inside the van, their suspicions were raised, Hamilton said. Officers are trained to look for “indicators” that “something doesn't fit” on traffic stops, Hamilton said, and though he declined to clarify what raised officers’ concerns, he said the officers spotted such indicators and “inconsistencies in story.”
Ultimately, they located a homemade explosive containing shrapnel in the van.
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The men in the vehicle, a 31-year-old and a 36-year-old, were arrested for possession of an explosive device, possessive of dangerous drugs and possession of cocaine, police said.
A motive or plan in the case was not immediately available. The men have not been arraigned and Hamilton declined to release further information, saying officials are working behind the scenes and with the ATF on the ongoing investigation.
“We just want to make sure we do our due diligence to ensure the safety of the public,” he said. “When you see something like this, you want to make sure there's no other actors involved. You want to make sure there's no other planning involved by these individuals. So that's what we're doing right now.”
Hamilton complimented his officers and the Dearborn Police Department bomb squad, which responded to the scene.
His department also recognized their work in a post on Facebook, sharing photos and noting the dangers of such a bomb.
“This type of explosive device is designed to do one thing - kill or injure people,” police said. “Shrapnel is designed to increase the lethality of the device; therefore, it can be safely assumed that their intent was malicious. However, this device will never hurt anyone due to the outstanding policework by Officer Tyler Groat, Officer Rasmussen, and Officer Saltsman.”
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Homemade bomb found during Wyandotte traffic stop, police say
