HICKORY, N.C. — A man was arrested after police found two suspicious devices at a Hickory church on Sunday, investigators said.
The Hickory Police Department responded to MarketPlace Church on Highway 127 South around 3 p.m. on Sunday after someone saw two items that resembled pipe bombs, officials said. When officers got to the church, they evacuated the area and contacted the FBI, Gaston County Police bomb squad and Gastonia Police bomb squad.
Both devices were rendered safe by the bomb squads and evidence was collected by Hickory investigators.
Officers determined that 37-year-old Joshua Wayne Hawley put the devices at the church. Hawley was found at a home in Burke County Monday and was arrested. He was charged with possession of weapons of mass destruction with additional charges pending, Hickory police said.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Hickory Police Department at 828-328-5551.
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