Man calls 911 on himself after bringing pipe bomb to Georgia shopping center, cops say

A man is in custody after being accused of bringing a pipe bomb in his truck to a Georgia shopping center, Marietta police say.

The 37-year-old Lincoln, Alabama, man called 911 around 8 a.m. on Feb. 25 and told dispatchers that a truck parked outside the East Gate shopping plaza in Marietta contained an explosive device, the Marietta Police Department said in a news release.

Police said they believed that the threat was real, and they began to evacuate the surrounding areas.

They called in the bomb squad, and a few hours later, a device “resembling a pipe bomb” was taken out of the truck and safely secured, police said.

The owner of the truck was taken into custody, where police learned that he had called 911 himself after bringing the pipe bomb to the shopping center, according to the release.

Police said they were able to safely open the pipe bomb later and found that, while it did contain explosives, it “lacked other components necessary for it to be considered a fully assembled explosive device.”

The man was charged with false report of a crime, hoax destructive device and false public alarm.

“The investigation remains open, and it is unclear why he traveled to Marietta, or called 911 on himself,” police said.

Marietta is 20 miles northwest of Atlanta.

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