Collin County Sheriff's deputies investigate IED found at cemetery

A bomb squad was called to dispose of the device.

Improvised Explosive Device discovered at Scott Cemetery in McKinney by the Collin County Sheriff's Office.
Collin County Sheriff's Office

MYSA
By Cristela Jones
December 15, 2023

Officials are investigating a North Texas cemetery after an explosive was discovered on the property. The Collin County Sheriff's Office responded to reports of a possible pipe bomb at 9:36 a.m. at Scott Cemetery in McKinney on Thursday, December 14.

In a Facebook post, the Collin County Sheriff's said deputies quickly secured the area and identified an object wrapped in black tape. Collin County Sheriff’s deputies promptly asked for help from the Plano Police Department Bomb Squad, who confirmed that the object was an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

The Plano PD Bomb Squad safely disposed of the device, mitigating any potential threat to the area. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was also called to assist with investigating the incident. There is no current indication of further danger to the public, according to the post.

The sheriff's office told NBC 5 DFW that the caller from the cemetery said he spotted the device at the cemetery last week and reported it Thursday morning. MySA contacted the Collin County Sheriff's Office who confirmed no arrests have been made from the incident. 

Larry Hankey, who reported the device to police, told NBC 5 that he first saw the object during a visit on Saturday, December 9, to the cemetery where his late parents and wife are buried. Hankey then left the cemetery Saturday but says he decided to report the object, a cylinder wrapped in black tape, after reading an FBI alert encouraging the public to report anything suspicious over the holidays, according to NBC 5.

"I should've called it in earlier," Hankey told NBC 5.

What is an IED?

An improvised explosive device (IED) is described as an "unconventional explosive weapon that can take any form and be activated in a variety of ways." The Department of Homeland Security lists an IED attack as the "use of a homemade bomb and/or destructive device to destroy, incapacitate, harass, or distract." IEDs can take many forms ranging from a small pipe bomb to a "sophisticated device capable of causing massive damage and loss of life."