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‘1,000-pound’ military bomb found at construction site, Fla. sheriff says

A bomb team from the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office determined the “rusted and decayed” bomb was inert

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The Hernando County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office posted this photo on Facebook after Sheriff Al Nienhuis said construction workers found a “a World War II era, 1,000-pound bomb” near Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (Hernando County Sheriff’s Office/TNS)

Hernando County Sheriff’s Office/TNS

By Emily Wunderlich
Tampa Bay Times

TAMPA, Fla. — Construction workers found an inert, “1,000-pound” military bomb near Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office.

The bomb was reported shortly before 3 p.m. by construction workers at the northeast corner of the airport near Helicopter Drive, where Wilton Simpson Technical College is being built, Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis said in a video posted on Facebook.

“They found what was believed to be a World War II era, 1,000-pound bomb,” Nienhuis said in the video, adding that it was “rusted and decayed.”

A bomb team from the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office determined the bomb was inert, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook about 6 p.m. Tuesday. The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office described it as “M-65 ordnance” and said a team from MacDill Air Force Base would help dispose of it.

On Tuesday afternoon, deputies had closed Spring Hill Drive between U.S. 41 and California Street, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. As of 6 p.m., all roadways had reopened.

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