A device found in a bag in a man's driveway and then brought to his Little Rock workplace appears to be an explosive that was intended to go off, though the investigation was continuing, officials said Wednesday.
Police and fire crews were called Wednesday morning to the workplace, Hiland Dairy at 6905 Interstate 30, to investigate. Little Rock Fire Department Capt. Jason Weaver said the device was considered stabilized there and employees were not in danger.
Speaking across the street from the dairy, Weaver said the device was in a bag at the man's home outside Pulaski County with his name on the "to" field of a tag. The man took the device, which looked like an appliance, inside and plugged it in, but it tripped his home's breaker, Weaver said.
He began taking it apart to fix it and became suspicious, bringing it with him to the dairy to get another opinion.
"He's fortunate it didn't function as designed," Weaver said. "I think the designer intended it to function, it was just a crude manufacturing ... I think they intended for it to go off, they just didn't have the knowledge and skills to put it together and make it function properly."
Bureau of Tobacco, Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives investigators will take custody of the device, Weaver said, to determine if the materials are actually combustibles.
"It appears to be, it is an improvised explosive device, just looking at it," Weaver said. "But until they test the materials inside, it could be a hoax. But right now it appears to be an actual device."
The federal officials were also heading to the man's neighborhood, which Weaver declined to specify, to speak with area residents and possible witnesses.
Little Rock police described the bag as being a "gift." Weaver said he didn't know exactly how the device was pacakged, but he described it as being in a bag.
