'Military artifacts' taken from MoSH by Memphis police bomb squad after archive review

Lucas Finton, Memphis Commercial Appeal
·2 min read
Members of the Memphis Police Department Bomb Unit walk out of the Museum of Science and History with a package as the MPD TACT/Bomb Unit respond after military artifacts were found during an archive review at the museum in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, July 7, 2023. The items were confiscated and will be disposed of, according to MPD.
Members of the Memphis Police Department Bomb Unit walk out of the Museum of Science and History with a package as the MPD TACT/Bomb Unit respond after military artifacts were found during an archive review at the museum in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, July 7, 2023. The items were confiscated and will be disposed of, according to MPD.

The Memphis Police Department's bomb unit spent over three hours removing what they described as "military artifacts" from the Memphis Museum of Science and History Friday afternoon.

The artifacts were found during an archive review at the museum, MPD said.

Memphis Police Department was called just after 11 a.m. Friday, and began clearing out of the parking lot of the museum, formerly known as the Pink Palace, just after 2:30 p.m.

"As a precautionary measure, the items were confiscated to be disposed of properly," MPD Public Information Officer Theresa Carlson said in an email statement.

A Memphis Police Department vehicle blocks the entrance to The Museum of Science and History as the MPD TACT/Bomb Unit respond after military artifacts were found during an archive review at the museum in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, July 7, 2023. The items were confiscated and will be disposed of, according to MPD.
A Memphis Police Department vehicle blocks the entrance to The Museum of Science and History as the MPD TACT/Bomb Unit respond after military artifacts were found during an archive review at the museum in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, July 7, 2023. The items were confiscated and will be disposed of, according to MPD.

It is unclear if the items were active explosives and how many items were taken from the building.

The review was routine, and the Memphis Museum of Science and History's curatorial team believed the artifacts needed additional review, museum communications manager Sheila Noone said in an email statement.

"After consulting with the Memphis Police Department's munitions experts, and out of an abundance of caution, we evacuated the premises this morning prior to the removal of the items," Noone said. "Working with MPD, we made the decision to dispose of the items in question. Our approach to this situation was to be proactive and act out of caution."

Officers could be seen carrying crates from the museum and loading them into a truck with a storage area labeled Criminalistics, Inc. The trailer, according to the company's website, is used for bomb storage and a similar-looking model "has safely controlled the detonation of up to 20 pounds of explosives such as: TNT, Composition four," commonly known as C-4.

The Memphis Police Department TACT/Bomb Unit respond after military artifacts were found during an archive review at the Memphis Museum of Science and History in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, July 7, 2023. The items were confiscated and will be disposed of, according to MPD.
The Memphis Police Department TACT/Bomb Unit respond after military artifacts were found during an archive review at the Memphis Museum of Science and History in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, July 7, 2023. The items were confiscated and will be disposed of, according to MPD.

Police locked down the parking lot of the museum, along with a stretch of Lafayette Street between Cowden Avenue and Lafayette Place.

The museum will be open this evening for the scheduled Guitar Heroes Laser Light programs, and anyone who was affected by the closure will have refunds issued directly to their accounts without needing to call to process those refunds.

Lucas Finton is a criminal justice reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: 'Military artifacts' taken from museum by Memphis police bomb squad