TRIPwire, 16 April 2021

On 14 April 2021, at approximately 1200 hours local time, Akron Police Department (APD) officers responded after a woman reported finding an IED in a bag close to railroad tracks. The Summit County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad responded to assist, and the FBI and ATF were notified. Bomb squad technicians examined the device, described as a pipe bomb enhanced with fragmentation, and rendered it safe. This is the second device found in a 2-mile radius within a week. The first device also resembled a pipe bomb but was not viable. It is currently unknown whether the first device was designed incorrectly or was an intentional hoax device, and it is unclear whether the two devices are related. The investigation is ongoing.