Bomb squad disassembles suspicious device found near central Iowa bike trail

Central Iowa authorities are analyzing materials found inside a suspicious backpack left near a bike trail in Norwalk.

Norwalk police responded late Monday morning a report of a suspicious package found in the 500 block of Beardsley Street. The road was closed in that area while crews, including the Des Moines police bomb squad, investigated the device.

“The bomb squad determined the contents of the backpack was a suspicious device with energetic materials (materials that could cause an explosion or catch fire),” according to a news release from the city of Norwalk. “The items were disassembled and collected for further analysis. An investigation into the situation is ongoing.”

Those materials included a metal box with nails inside and an unidentified powder inside, as well as a canister of butane fuel taped to an unmarked plastic container.

Read more: KCCI