Flint, MI – A Flint resident discovered military-grade explosives concealed in a recently-purchased car part this weekend, according to the Flint Police Department.
Flint Chief of Police Terence Green said the citizen, whom law enforcement did not name, immediately called 911 after he discovered the explosives on Nov. 19, 2022. The Flint Police Department’s bomb squad was deployed at approximately 2:30 p.m. and safely removed the items without triggering an explosion. There were no injuries.
During a Nov. 21 press conference on the matter, Green informed the public that an investigation to find who planted the explosives is ongoing. When asked if there could be other explosives hidden in the City, Green said that the Flint Police Department was uncertain.
“We wanted to make the public aware that, if they come across this type of item, definitely call 911 and do not try to handle these explosives. They’re very dangerous. The citizen that called – I thank him very much for calling 911,” Green said.
According to Green, the person who reported the explosives found them while installing a recently-purchased car door.
Green said that the explosives were secured within the car door itself and not in the side pocket, and there was an intent to conceal them.
“Due to the fact that these explosives were concealed in a door of a vehicle – if there was some type of motor vehicle accident … These explosives would have ignited and caused a lot of damage, loss of life and things of that nature,” Green said.
Photos of the explosives provided to the press depicted them in containers marked “Explosive C-4 – Military Grade.”
Green told Flint Beat that the investigating agencies believe these explosives were stolen from a military base, and they intend to trace the lot numbers on the explosives to their original source.
Green said the explosives are now being held in a secure location, and added that possession of C-4, or military-grade, explosives is a felony in the state of Michigan that can result in up to 15 years imprisonment.
The Flint resident purchased the door with hidden explosives from a salvage yard in Capac, Mich., Green said. The Flint PD is working with the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in their ongoing investigation.