Truck sold at auction had explosives inside
Buyer of old bomb squad vehicle called 911.
JOSHUA STOWE
Tribune Staff Writer
SOUTH BEND -- Police on Thursday pledged multiple investigations to determine how blasting caps and plastic explosives were left in a former police truck sold at a city auction.
Officers learned of the problem Wednesday evening when Cosimo Bumbaca, who had bought the vehicle for his housing business, placed a 911 call.
"They got here really, really fast," Bumbaca said Thursday. "It worked out good, but I was surprised, I was mad, because if that stuff got in the wrong hands, it could've killed a lot of people. That is not right."
Police believe that there were enough explosives to gut the truck, said Capt. Phil Trent, a spokesman for the South Bend Police Department.
The vehicle was a former ambulance that had been refurbished and used for several years as a bomb truck, Trent said.
In addition to the explosives, which were designed for police use, the truck held dummy dynamite sticks that were used for training but could not explode, police said.
Now, South Bend police have launched an internal investigation at the request of Chief Thomas Fautz, Trent said.
Meanwhile, police said, Fautz has also ordered an audit of all explosives that the department owns or is storing.
In addition, Fautz requested that the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms conduct an independent review of the department's "storage, handling and transport" of its explosives, police said in a written statement.
"The South Bend Police Department regrets this occurrence," police said in the statement, "and promises a vigorous investigation into this matter."
Staff writer Joshua Stowe:
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(574) 235-6359
:banghead: