NEWS RELEASE

Earlier today, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office received a call regarding a structure fire in the 4500 block of 16^th Street, in Vero Beach, Florida. When firefighters arrived on scene to clear the blaze, they found a suspicious cylindrical object of concern. The Saint Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Explosive Ordinance Device (E.O.D.) Team was called to the scene for guidance. They attempted to identify the contents of the device but were unable to. Out of an abundance of caution, 16^th Street was closed as the device was moved to a safe location. The EOD team transported the device in a secured transport unit to an alternative location for inspection and diffusion.

As of this time, it is undetermined if the device was an explosive. The EOD team will work with state fire investigators and Indian River County Sheriff’s detectives to determine the origin of the device. The owners of the residence do not reside there and the house had been unoccupied for some time. 16^th Street is still closed to through traffic with the state fire investigator on scene.