A man’s makeshift bumper, made of duct tape and wires and strapped to the side of his vehicle, was mistaken for a car bomb.
Officers were called to Murfreesboro in Tennessee over the seeming explosive device after calls about a car appearing to have a bomb strapped to its side doors.
Sitting outside the First Watch restaurant on Medical Centre Pkwy, at 9.39am (3.39pm in the UK) on Tuesday, the car had wires connected to a suction cup on the inside door handle.
Federal, state, and local officers responded to the threat, and all businesses in the shopping plaza were evacuated for nearly two hours as a precaution.
Schools in the Seigel school zone were placed on lockdown while the investigation was ongoing due to the address related to the vehicle’s tag.
After some time, a Murfreesboro Police Department supervisor reached the owner of the car by phone.
He was standing with the other evacuees across the street the entire time, unaware it was his car that promoted the bomb threat calls.
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The Tennessee Highway Patrol Special Operations Unit responded and gave all clear after examining the car.
Larry Flowers, public information officer for Murfreesboro Police and Fire Rescue, told local outlet WKRN: “We had a massive, massive response to this location to find out it was a man who was trying to prevent his car from being dented.”
Since there was no intent to cause harm, the police department said the man will not be charged.
