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Published on January 14, 2025
Contractor Finds Alleged Explosives and Rifle, Sparks Bomb Squad Scare in Lake Meadows High-RiseSource: Google Street View

An alarming discovery by a contractor led to a sizable law enforcement response and the evacuation of a Lake Meadows apartment building on Chicago's South Side. Melissa Carraway, who was scheduled to service HVAC units in the building located at 533 East 33rd Place, stumbled upon what appeared to be military-grade explosives and an assault rifle. In a statement obtained by ABC7 Chicago, Carraway described finding "C4 explosives, a rifle, a lot of a lot of fake IDs, a lot of firemen stuff, a lot of police force stuff" after using a master key to access a unit when no one answered the door.

Upon encountering the suspicious items, Carraway recalled instances of violence that had stricken other cities. "I just thought about the bombing in New Orleans and the thing that happened in Vegas," she told WGN. Her concern prompted her to notify the police, an act that set into motion a sequence of security protocols, including evacuation and investigation of the scene by the Chicago Police Department's bomb squad.

The legitimacy of the potential threat was heavily scrutinized by authorities. "There’s a suitcase with explosives that said ‘C4’ and I googled the pictures. Looks like military stuff. I saw a big rifle by a window. I said I’m going to call the police," Carraway remarked in a WGN interview. Police ultimately determined the items were not a real threat, but the situation escalated when a video later verified the realistic nature of the devices.

In the aftermath of the incident, the CPD took one person into custody, though the connection to the discovered materials has not been made clear yet. This individual, according to WGN investigations, is reputedly the same man who had been fired from the Chicago Fire Department in 2022 and had subsequently made threats against the fire academy. A relative had notified police about his distressing behavior back then. Yet, despite these incidents, he found employment with another city agency, which, as noted by an ABC7 Chicago report, continues to employ him.

There still is no definitive explanation from officials on the latter incident or on the status of the charges against the individual in custody. Residents of the Lake Meadows building were allowed back into their apartments later in the afternoon as police and bomb unit presence dissipated.