by JESSICA VESS / KVUE News
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Posted on January 12, 2012 at 5:29 PM
Updated today at 5:37 PM



MANOR, Texas -- An early morning bomb scare prompted evacuations and lock downs in Manor ISD.
Police evacuated the high school around 8 a.m. Manor Police Sgt. Ryan Phipps says School Resource Officers contacted the department after a 20-year-old man pulled into the circle drive on campus but refused to leave.

When police arrived, the man identified himself as Jesus Delacruz Carbajal. Police detained him and searched his car. Officers found an explosive device that looked like a grenade in the middle console of the vehicle.

Police immediately put the school on lock down. Since school doesn’t start until 8:50 a.m., most students at Manor High School were still in route and not on campus. The district diverted its buses to the nearby Middle School. Manor ISD Superintendent Andrew Kim says about 80 percent of the students use bus transportation.

The district placed the middle school and nearby elementary school on lock down as police shut down Gregg Manor Road and called out the Austin Police Department’s bomb squad.

By 10:30 a.m., officers gave the all-clear. Roger Wade of the Travis County Sheriff’s Office says the squad discovered the grenade was a replica.

“It wasn't active. It was not an explosive device. They tell me that it was what they call a replica grenade which looks exactly like the real thing, just doesn’t have the explosive power to it. The only way you can figure that out is if they investigate and have the explosive ordinance detail come out and look at it,” said Wade.

Sgt. Phipps says the department’s officers ordered the evacuations and lock downs as a precaution.

“It looked fairly real. It was painted blue. It had blue markings on it. In the military, generally, when they discard their grenades they do some sort of blue paint on it to show that they're inoperable,” said Sgt. Ryan Phipps of the Manor Police Department.

School buses slowly began transporting students back to the high school after getting clearance to return.

The driver of the car remains in custody. Police are questioning him about why he was on campus in the first place.


According to the Travis County Sheriff's Office, the suspect has been charged with a third degree felony of tempering with a government record. The charge could come with a prison sentence of two to 10 years. Travis County officials say he had a fake social security card and was going to the high school to meet his 17-year-old girlfriend.


Deputies believe he is not a citizen because he had a fake Mexican consulate ID. ICE could soon get involved because of it.



Suspected grenade found in car causes Manor HS to evacuate | kvue.com Austin