The U.S. Postal Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were brought in to investigate an apparent explosive device found early Monday in a local man's mailbox, Garland County Under Sheriff Jason Lawrence said Tuesday.
A resident, 61, of Wildcat Road, had gone out to check his mail and found his mailbox open. He looked inside and saw what appeared to be an explosive device and immediately called the sheriff's department shortly before 8:30 a.m., according to an incident report.
Lawrence described the device as a glass Coke bottle filled with black powder and ball bearings with some type of material serving as a fuse at the top that appeared to have burned at one point.
Piney Fire Department and the Arkansas State Police bomb disposal unit responded to the scene and removed the device from the mailbox. Lawrence said it was taken to another location where they used a water cannon to break it open and the parts were collected as evidence.
He said the U.S. Postal Service has assumed responsibility for the investigation.
Local on 04/18/2018