Via Jules Crittenden and Rantburg
ABC News 4
Goose Creek - Berkeley County police pulled over a vehicle in a routine traffic stop near Meyers Road and Highway 176 around 6 p.m. Saturday. The vehicle with Florida tags was driven by two men of Middle Eastern descent. Some type of explosives were found in the trunk. Those explosives were detonated after three o’clock this morning. Two men were arrested, and charges of possession of unlawful explosives are being prepared. Officials are not at this time releasing any additional information on the number of charges or types of explosive devices they found. They did say that neighbors were in no immediate dangers. The FBI (website) , South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office, Goose Creek Police Department, and the ATF were on scene. Highway 176 in Goose Creek was shut down and has since reopened. Stay tuned to ABC News 4 for details as they become available.
The Times and Democrat, Orangeburg, SC
Goose Creek is home to the Naval Weapons Station, which houses the U.S. Naval Consolidated Brig, a military prison where enemy combatants have been held. The traffic stop took place about 7 miles from the sprawling Navy facility.
Julie Johnson, assistant special agent-in-charge for the FBI in Columbia, said the FBI was still trying to determine whether a crime had been committed but that there was “no immediate threat” related to the traffic stop.
Johnson said the FBI was working with state and local agencies, and that they were going to be on the scene for a long time, The (Charleston) Post and Courier reported on its Web site early Sunday. She would not answer reporters’ questions.
A mile-long stretch of U.S. Highway 176 remained closed at 2 a.m. Sunday. Police cars, fire trucks and an ambulance were on the scene.
A reporter with WCBD-TV said she saw a robot remove something from the trunk of the car earlier in the evening, but that the item was not immediately moved from the scene.
South Carolina law enforcement Chief Robert Stewart told The Associated Press that his officers were on the scene, but that the FBI was handling the case and he did not elaborate.
Goose Creek, with a population of about 30,000, is located about 20 miles north of Charleston.
