Car With Homemade Dent Protectors Provokes Federal-Level Bomb Threat Response In Tennessee

Photo: Murfreesboro Police Department

Residents in Murfreesboro, Tennessee were alarmed to see a Lexus parked outside of a restaurant on Tuesday morning with strange devices taped to the doors, so they called 911.

Here Are The Best Rally Car Noises And Jumps From Lake Superior Performance Rally

They sure look sketchy and more than one person contacted law enforcement.  The objects were wrapped in plastic bags, had wires running out of them, and were held together with duct tape. I would think it could be a bomb, too. But the mysterious objects were makeshift rubber bumpers, not bombs.

Photo: Murfreesboro Police Department

Police in Murfreesboro, about 30 miles southeast of Nashville, were able to contact the sedan’s owner by phone but only after triggering a massive emergency response. Eight different agencies responded to the bomb threat including the Tennessee Highway Patrol’s Special Operations Unit and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). All of the nearby businesses were evacuated for two hours and local schools were placed on lockdown, according to WZTV.

You might be wondering where was the Lexus owner when the police called him. He was standing in the crowd of evacuees across the street, completely unaware that the bomb threat was about his car. Murfreesboro Police Department stated that the special operations unit eventually gave an all-clear. The device’s wires were connected to a suction cup on the inside door handle, another easy way to make anything look like a car bomb.

The police didn’t charge the vehicle owner with a crime because he didn’t show any ill intent. However, there are much more normal ways to prevent people from denting your doors in a parking lot.