Bomb squads clear dead man's apartment

MONT BELVIEU, TX

About 70 apartments a complex located at 9407 State Highway 146 are still evacuated, and will be for some time, as police continue to investigate.

They found a cache of weapons along with anti-government and bomb-making literature inside one of the apartments. They were called there around 9am Friday morning after a 59-year-old man's employer asked police to check on him when he didn't show up for work.

Officers had to force their way inside and found the man dead in the bathroom.

Investigators have not said exactly when or how the man died. There is no reason, they tell us, to believe the death was anything but natural.

While removing his body, emergency personnel found a what they call a "large amount" of weapons and the literature, even ammunition and gunpowder. Police called the ATF and the FBI.

Brian Chachere lives in an apartment right across from the scene.

"It's strange. I've got a seven-year-old. To have something like this going on right here in the neighborhood is strange," Chachere said."He had guns piled up against the wall. He had all kind of papers like he was a hoarder or something."

The bomb squad is now searching the apartment for any explosive materials.

Police say the man who was found dead was in fact a hoarder, so they are having some difficulty getting through all of the things in the apartment to ensure no dangerous weapons or explosive material remains behind.

Half of the apartment complex are still under evacuation until investigators deem the property safe, which could take as much as 10 hours.

At this point, police have been unable to say why the dead man had all these weapons and ammunition.

The Red Cross is there and they're working on finding temporary shelter for folks displaced.

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