A man found dead from a possible improvised explosive device in Antioch, California, sent neighborhoods into lockdown and bomb squads scrambling on Monday.
Police responding to a call at around 7:30 a.m. found a white male in his mid 50s lying in the street, department spokesman Darryl Saffold told East County Today. The unresponsive man had suffered “severe trauma” and was determined to be deceased after a check of his vital signs, he said.
The bomb squad from nearby Walnut Creek Police Department were brought in after police found wires located near the body that are believed to be part of an improvised explosive device, said Saffold.
The body was found in a residential area in the East Bay city of about 115,000. The discovery put multiple schools into lockdown and police ordered nearby residents to shelter in place while police investigated, according to department Facebook post.
“Please do not call 9-1-1 unless you have a LIFE THREATENING EMERGENCY,” the department wrote in its post.
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Shortly before 3 p.m. on Monday, police lifted the shelter-in-place order. But questions remain.
Police haven’t identified the man and have not located casings or a note in the area, Saffold told reporters. Police don’t know if the man’s death, which they’re calling “suspicious,” was intentional or accidental, according to Saffold.
“The victim suffered severe trauma,” said Saffold. “And so we aren’t ruling anything out.”
There have been three other recent homicides in the city, but Saffold states the police don’t think the Monday incident is related. Police found a double homicide on Saturday after responding to a welfare call, and earlier last week police found an injured, unresponsive man in the parking lot of a liquor store after responding to reports of gunfire. The man later died from his injuries.
Multiple local and federal agencies have been brought in to investigate, reports the East Bay Times. As of early Monday afternoon, agents from the FBI, ATF, Department of Homeland Security, BART police and others, including those with bomb-smelling dogs, were still at the location.
There are no signs of other explosive devices in schools or neighborhoods, Saffold said, according to CBS affiliate KPIX-TV.
Newsweek has reached out to the Antioch Police Department for additional details.
In December, schools across the country closed in response to threats of violence driven by social media, including TikTok. While law enforcement in some areas determined the threats weren’t credible they still sent officers to schools as a deterrent.
