Possible torpedo discovered in Coweta County, prompting evacuations

COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — Several houses were evacuated Thursday morning in Coweta County after reports of a possible bomb.

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The incident happened in a neighborhood near Raymond Hill and River Park.

The Coweta County Sheriff’s Office said that the 911 caller said the object appeared to be a World War II-era torpedo. The Coweta County Sheriff’s Office and Fire/Rescue evacuated the surrounding area.

Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation also rushed to the neighborhood.

NewsChopper 2 was over the scene, where multiple law enforcement vehicles blocked off streets. At one point, what appeared to be a bomb squad went into a garage.

Law enforcement finally cleared the scene around 3 p.m. and removed the “bomb,” which they have still not determined to be a live ordinance, practice ordinance or a replica. It was taken to the Vulcan quarry to be destroyed.

Neighbors were allowed to return home.

Channel 2′s Justin Carter was at the scene, where neighbors couldn’t believe what they were witnessing.

“I was definitely not expecting this,” Noah Humphrey said. “You would never think a World War II torpedo so close to our neighborhood.”

Chloe Pollard said she had just left the home to go to the gym.

“We just moved here two weeks ago, and to hear that our street is being evacuated right now is terrifying,” Pollard said.

Mike Exner said he spoke to the homeowner moments after police were called.

“He said he had had this object for about two weeks and he was going to use it as a boat anchor,” Exner said. “They told him it was live, and he was very apologetic about it. He and his wife told me that they had no idea it was going to be a bomb.”

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The homeowner declined to talk to Channel 2 Action News.

“All precautions have been taken to assume it was live,” officials said.

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