Mystery Explosive Found in Backyard

WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas - At first glance, it was just another piece of junk in a yard strewn with metal, wood and other castoffs. But the landlord knew something was suspicious.

The man who owned the house in the 800 block of Sandell Drive called White Settlement police, who in turn called the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

The device, bigger than a man's fist, had pins sticking out of it and resembled some kind of military explosive, according to Lt. J.P. Bevering with the White Settlement Police Department.

Three schools in the immediate area were put on lockdown: Liberty Elementary, Brewer Middle and Mesa High School and Alternative Campus.

The Fort Worth Bomb Squad sent their remote-controlled robot in for assistance.

At first, the yellow device seemed to be a dud, and officers walked right up to the scene.

Upon closer inspection, they decided to treat it as a live device, and put it in a special holding tank, then drive it over to Fort Worth's bomb disposal area to be destroyed.

By early Friday afternoon, the lockdown on the schools had been lifted.

No one is sure exactly what the device was, or how it got in the yard. The landlord said whoever had been living there had recently moved.

The home is just west of the former Carswell Air Force Base, now the Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base.