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Mailbox explosion likely an isolated event
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What has been referred to as a homemade bomb caused a mailbox to explode in South Bryan County on Aug. 16.

Detective Mickey Sands with the Bryan County Sheriff’s Department said the explosion on Oak Level Road was likely caused from a chemical reaction that can occur when certain household items are combined.

He added these items are readily available at a grocery store but did not give any indication what chemicals he thought may have caused the blast.

Sands said the explosion blew the bottom off of the mailbox and dislodged it from the post but did not blow it into pieces. No injuries were reported.

“It’s not like al-Qaida is on Oak Level Road,” Sands said. “It’s just one incident as far as we could determine.”

The incident is still under investigation, Sands said, and there are no leads in the case.

“We just don’t know if it was someone who rode by or someone in that neighborhood,” he said. “But it’s a sparse neighborhood – there are not a lot of people in that area, so I think someone just rode by.”

Sands said unless this kind of event becomes a trend, this case would probably be treated as an isolated incident. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t charges associated with such acts.

“It is a state crime to damage a mailbox,” Sands said. “It’s a misdemeanor. There are other charges that could be put on someone – reckless endangerment for instance.”

Sands said anyone who has any information regarding the incident should call the Bryan County Sheriff’s Department in Richmond Hill at 756-2282.

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