Two Service Members in Custody After Explosives Found in Truck - East Idaho News
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Two Service Members in Custody After Explosives Found in Truck

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Getty N 040911 PoliceCar?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1333703886695Thinkstock/Getty Images(REDONDO BEACH, Calif.) — Two active duty members of the military were taken into custody in Redondo Beach, Calif., Thursday evening for having multiple “flash bang” explosives in the back of their pick-up truck, according to officials.

The vehicle was found in the parking lot of South Bay Galleria, a local shopping center.

Redondo Beach Police Captain Jeff Hink told ABC News Radio the military tipped authorities to these men and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s bomb squad was then called in to check out the suspicious devices.

“They’re explosive in nature,” Hink said, describing the devices.  “But they are like practice distraction devices that the military uses.  There were 10 of them in the car.”

“Just like a large firecracker it could certainly hurt you if it went off and you were standing — holding it or standing right near it,” he explained.

The posed danger forced evacuations of nearby stores.

“A couple hundred people were evacuated from a nearby Target store.  There was a Living Spaces furniture store and a Nordstrom Rack that were adjacent to this particular parking lot in Redondo Beach,” Hink said.

He said the police department is working with representatives from the military to investigate the matter.  It is unclear why the two men, who have not been identified, were at the shopping center or what their intent was.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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