MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Containers of chemicals, gun powder and military explosives were all sitting in a basement in Central Gardens.
WREG uncovered new information about the disturbing discovery police made earlier this week.
“It’s unreal. It’s one house between me,” said neighbor Jimmie Thomasson.
Police told WREG they found military explosives, devices and containers of chemicals at a home on Vinton.
The items were first discovered by a crew when they were cleaning up a sewage leak in the basement.
One crew member, who also helps ship explosives at FedEx, told us she saw acid, gun powder, fuses, detenator wires, gas and grenades.
MPD secured and evacuated the home Monday, but family members say they didn’t find everything.
They were called back Tuesday, leading to another evacuation.
Neighbors wonder how long the dangerous devices sat there.
“I’m just glad nothing bad happened and everyone is safe,” said Thomasson.
The man who once lived in the home worked for the Memphis Police Department’s Bomb Squad Unit for decades.
He was also a member of the military.
MPD officers say they’re working to find out where everything came from, but claim nothing came from the department.
They said they mostly found containers of chemicals and some military-grade items, like blasting caps and non-active grenade shells still wrapped in original packaging. Some stuff dated back decades.
“We are working with military EOD units to try and track down where these items originated,” said a MPD spokesperson.
We asked MPD for a list of the inventory and are waiting to hear back.
Family members have since moved into the home.
Relatives said no one knew that many explosives were there and why.
What is clear is that they warned MPD in 2014 when they claim they found hazardous material.
MPD said in a statement, “Our Bomb Unit was called to this location in 2014 concerning possible hazardous material. Officers made the scene and recovered the item/s. This area of the home is used as storage and is in disarray and full of equipment, storage boxes, and common clutter that one would find in an area that someone would use for storage. At the time, in 2014, there was nothing that would indicate that additional items were in this area. It wasn’t until Monday, when the cleaning crew began to move items that more potential hazardous material/items were discovered.
They assured us this time, the area is clear and safe.
Police say they are working with state and federal authorities to figure out where these items came from.
“Anytime an explosive device or hazardous material is recovered from a scene, it is properly disposed of by our Bomb Unit. We do not store evposive items,” said a MPD spokesperson.