Two bombs, nearly identical, were discovered near busy US 74 this week. Shelby officials say the bombs' construction was similar, but the contents were different, calling the bombs "improvised pyrotechnic explosives." That means they're dangerous fireworks.
So far it is unclear who is dropping the bombs off, when or why they would do such a thing. It's speculated the bombs may have been planted at the same time, even though they were discovered on different days. One was found near a gas station.
Trudy Spurlin initially didn't know why investigators were scouring outside her workplace Tuesday morning. Nor was she ever told by anyone of official capacity.Spurlin found out about the nearby explosive from a customer.
"I thought it was pretty strange ... had it really been anything, I think we should have known about it," said Spurlin, a manager at Roco Food Stores on U.S. 74. "Here we are with all these gas pumps and everything. If it had exploded, we would have all been gone."
For the second time in as many days, a bomb truck from Gaston County rolled in on East Dixon Boulevard. This time, it stopped at the old Wal-Mart shopping center.
In what's quickly becoming an alarming trend, authorities Tuesday discovered another homemade explosive in Cleveland County. Gaston County Police Sgt. Charlie McCants said it was discovered in the roadway at the intersection of U.S. 74 and South Post Road.