ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) — The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office hosted “Post Blast Investigator Training” Monday for dozens of Upstate and federal law enforcement officers.
“It’s all problem solving,” Detective Travis Bolton, a member of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office’s Bomb Squad, said. “What we’re doing is taking a puzzle that may be able to kill you and trying to figure out is it in fact a device? Is it harmful or hazardous?”
The investigators learned about different materials used to make a bomb and how it will look and even smell when it explodes.
“[There are] lots of different types of explosives, different chemicals and different compositions, as far as how tightly they’re packed,” Bolton said.
If an explosion takes place, investigators will be tasked with looking for evidence to determine where the bomb came from and who set it off.
“The first goal is to preserve human life and safety,” Bolton explained. “The second is to preserve property. The third is trying to collect any evidence to determine who did it and stop that from happening in the future.”
Investigators look for identifying information, including fingerprints. They also examine the explosion’s size.
“It’s very much a case by case basis if they’re leaving behind evidence,’ Bolton explained. “If they’re more well trained, it’s going to be a little more digging. That’s why we’re here so we can figure out how to do that better.”
Bolton said it is essential that investigators across the Upstate take part in the training so they can support each other during emergencies.
