ATF Confirms Origins of Box of Dynamite that Prompted Knoxville Evacuation

It happened in October, when employees at CMC Recycling opened a steel box, only to find hundreds of sticks of dynamite and blast caps. (Courtesy: Knoxville Police Department)

ATF Confirms Origins of Box of Dynamite that Prompted Knoxville Evacuation

Knoxville, TN (WOKI) New details are emerging in a dynamite scare that prompted an hours-long emergency response back in October in Knoxville.

Roughly 200 sticks of dynamite were found in a box at CMC Recycling on Western Avenue. Those explosives forced several homes and businesses near the plant to evacuate for over a day.

ATF officials tracing the source of that dynamite to an excavating company which left the explosives sealed up on a property for years.

The owner of the excavating company, who is now retired, thought he’d removed all explosives from the property.

The box was sold to a recycling company in Kingsport that sold it go CMC Recycling in Knoxville.

ATF officials say it amounts to a mistake, and no charges will be filed.

It happened in October, when employees at CMC Recycling opened a steel box, only to find hundreds of sticks of dynamite and blast caps. (Courtesy: Knoxville Police Department)

Headlines

What's happening

Free NewsTalk 98.7 App

Free NewsTalk 98.7 App

Take WOKI with you wherever you go with the free NewsTalk 98.7 App, available on the App Store and Google Play!

Listen Live

Listen Live

We’re making it even easier for you to stay connected to NewsTalk 98.7 wherever you go! Besides tuning in on your radio, you can also stream 98.7 through your computer, smartphone, tablet, and your smart speaker.