ABC News reports:
The device, which a spokesperson for the Okfuskee County Sheriff’s Office told ABC News was “the real thing,” was discovered this morning by an official with Oklahoma’s native Muscogee (Creek) Nation outside the small town of Okemah and reported to the sheriff’s office.
Bomb technicians from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol along with several agents of the FBI and the sheriff’s office responded to the report and were able to remove the device from the pipeline to examine it at an “inert” location, FBI spokesperson Clay Simmonds told ABC News.
“They are currently examining the device and, should it turn out to be a legitimate explosive device, they will render it safe,” Simmonds said.
Simmonds described the device as small pipe bomb-like, about one foot by one foot with visible wires and a timing device. While the device is still under careful investigation, Simmonds said that the initial impression by investigators was that it could have only done limited, if any, damage to the pipeline.
A highway that runs parallel to the gas pipe has been closed off and is expected to stay closed until the device has been rendered harmless and investigators sweep for a possible second device, Simmonds said.
