Pipe Bomb Discovery Prompts Evacuation Of Owasso Apartment Complex

By Jeffrey Smith The News On 6

OWASSO, OK -- An Owasso apartment complex was partially evacuated Monday afternoon after a pipe bomb was found inside one of the apartments. 

Owasso Police officers say they found the pipe bomb when they were serving a search warrant on a drug suspect.

The incident occurred at about 3:00 p.m. at The Greens Apartment complex, near 86th Street North and 145th East Avenue.

Police evacuated three buildings. Other residents on their way home from work, were turned away at the gates.

“I'm thinking this is crazy. I just want to go home,” said Jennifer Kirby, an apartment resident.

As residents gathered across the street waiting for the okay, word spread that there was a pipe bomb inside an apartment.

“Like this is crazy for being out in Owasso, I mean, you think it’s a quiet town, but some crazy stuff is going on right now,” said Kirby.

Owasso officers were looking for drugs inside an apartment when they found the bomb in a closet. That's when they called the Tulsa Bomb Squad.

“It’s been described to me as similar to what a hand grenade would do if it were to go off,” said Deputy Chief Scott Chambless, Owasso Police.

Chambless says with drug suspects, explosives and bombs come with the territory.

“It just seems to be part of that culture, of the drug culture. I think there's some people that are part of that culture, that have the need to have pipe bombs in their homes,” said Chambless.

Chambless says it’s a selfish act that puts dozens of lives in danger.

“I mean, just look at the things we've had happen recently with the fires involved from the methamphetamine labs. There's not a lot of care involved for the fellow occupants of their apartment buildings when they do these things,” said Chambless.

Owasso Police officers seized about a pound of marijuana from the apartment. 

The suspect's name has not yet been released. He was arrested and taken to the Tulsa County jail for drug possession.

Police say he could face additional, federal charges for building that pipe bomb.