Reported ‘bomb’ found on car in Murfreesboro was device to prevent dents, police say
By Daniel Smithson and Caleb Wethington
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MURFREESBORO, Tennessee (WSMV) — Murfreesboro police have given the all-clear in the area of Medical Center Parkway after false reports of a bomb attached to a car outside of the First Watch restaurant.
Police said a man claimed he attached a contraption made of a rubber bumper with duct tape and wires to the side of his car to prevent dents. This device is what caused the confusion Tuesday morning.
“There was a massive response from local, state and federal agencies,” police said. “Several schools in the Siegel school zone was placed on lockdown. The lockdown has been lifted.”
The owner of the car was inside the restaurant at the time police were contacted about the device on the car. Police said local businesses were evacuated for nearly two hours as a precaution.
The car’s owner was eventually contacted by police over the phone. Police said he had been standing across the street with other evacuees, unaware that it was his vehicle that prompted the incident.
Police said since there was no intent to cause harm, no charges would be filed against the man.
EARLIER: A large police presence has been reported near St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital while police investigate an “incident,” according to the Murfreesboro Police Department.
The 1900 block of Medical Center Parkway from Thompson Lane to Joe Knight Drive is closed due to the incident. Police have not specified what they are investigating. A photo of the scene shows the Murfreesboro Police Department and Murfreesboro Fire and Rescue have responded to the scene.
A witness told WSMV4′s Jordan James that First Watch was evacuated by police who came in and said there was a “bomb strapped to a car.” Murfreesboro officials have not confirmed that report.
Drivers should expect traffic delays, police said. You can still access St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital from Broad Street side.
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