ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Federal agents are working Tuesday morning to figure out who left an explosive device outside a Walgreens in East Orange County. Officers said they do not have any surveillance video that could have helped them in the case.
Deputies were forced to shut down the area of Aloma Avenue near Goldenrod Road (see map) for several hours Monday night while they worked to detonate the device.
"They had everything taped off. It was very strange," said nearby resident Tracy Thompson. "It just sounded like a big cannon going off. It was just real loud."
It was determined through the use of bomb-detecting equipment and a K-9 unit that the device was an explosive. Orange County's bomb squad used a robot to detonate it. They will only say it was an "oddly shaped box with wires sticking out of it."
The explosion happened near the front entrance of the store, leaving behind a large black mark on the side of the building.
"The device was very suspicious-looking, so the Orange County Sheriff's Office FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force team arrived on scene to help the deputies and patrol," said Jeff Williamson of the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms was called in for the post-explosion investigation.
Investigators said they've sent the remnants of the bomb to a lab to try to determine where it came from and who made it.
Neighbors and customers said they were on edge.
"It's a little scary. This is a fairly quiet neighborhood for it to happen over in this section. It's pretty unusual," said neighbor Linda Penberthy.
WFTV asked whether the store or someone there specifically might have been targeted, but the sheriff's office said it's all part of the investigation.
Another part of the investigation they are considering is just how close the bomb was placed to propane tanks and whether that was part of the suspect's plan.
WFTV
