UPDATE: The suspected explosive device a Texas bomb squad responded to near the border has been determined to be “non-explosive,” according to Detective Rogelio Banda with the San Benito Police Department.
He stated that at 9:35pm local time, authorities received a call about a suspicious object on the roadway. “When we arrived, several vehicles were stopped on the road and people were taking pictures of the object,” Detective Banda told Breitbart Texas.
He stated that a witness claimed the object was making ticking noises. A perimeter was established and a local bomb squad was called in to assist. The bomb squad arrived and set off a charge to destroy the object. Authorities were then able to determine that the device was not explosive.
A possible improvised explosive device (IED) was left on a roadway in Texas near the border with Mexico. The possible explosive device was with a Santa Muerte statue. The rare find was reported by drivers who called San Benito Police about the statue in the middle of a road Wednesday night. This prompted police units and firefighters to respond, information provided to Breitbart Texas by police revealed.
As authorities got to the scene they noticed what appeared to be a possible explosive device and contacted the Brownsville Police bomb squad who arrived to inspect the object and the statue. Authorities have not confirmed if the rare find resulted in a false alarm or if an actual threat existed.
Santa Muerte is a religious belief that developed recently in Mexico. Followers pray and give offerings to Saint Death for protection and favor. Typically believers have altars where the skeletal statue is adorned with different colored robes and is generally pictured holding a sickle.
The belief in the Santa Muerte, while popular in some parts of Mexico and in the U.S., has developed deep roots in drug traffickers and cartel members who ask for protection before engaging in criminal activity.
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