While wading through a Texas lake, the man’s metal detector discovered what authorities later confirmed was an explosive device.
LEWISVILLE, Texas — A metal detector enthusiast searching a Texas lake this week got surprise It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience when he said he discovered what authorities later confirmed were pipe bombs hidden underwater.
Mike Reiter said he was wading through a local waist-deep lake using a metal detector when he received a strong signal and began digging out the object with a metal shovel.
“The signal was loud in the water. I started kicking it into my metal spoon,” Wright said. “When I pulled up, I saw the pipe bomb,” said Wright, who immediately recognized the device.
“This is 100 percent a pipe bomb,” he said.
He took the equipment to shore and called emergency personnel.
Police and fire crews attended the scene and confirmed the device was an explosive, before a bomb squad was deployed to safely detonate it after police cleared the area.
“You feel the shock throughout your body. Just boom!” Wright said.
Authorities say devices like the one found are sometimes used illegally to kill fish in lakes and waterways.
“Why are there bombs in the park?” Wright said. “Outrage is an understatement.”
Wright said the discovery stunned him for several hours. “Those were the three scariest moments of my life,” he said.
In retrospect, he acknowledged that pulling the equipment out of the water was dangerous.
“It was very stupid,” Wright said, adding that he felt he needed to remove it so authorities could handle the situation safely.
Is blast fishing legal?
Pipe bombing fish is illegal in at least two ways.
Explosive fishing is considered a “destructive” form of fishing marine stewardship council. It is banned by state law in several states, including Texas, Florida, south carolina, virginiaand maine.
Federal law also prohibit Explosive fishing takes place in the coastal waters of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic, extending up to 200 miles offshore.
There are also pipe bombs prohibit Under federal law, regardless of intent. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives classifies it as an illegal improvised explosive device, requiring a federal license for its manufacture or possession, which recreational fishers do not hold.
