LEWISVILLE, TEXAS — A metal-detecting hobbyist uncovered a pipe bomb hidden underwater in Lewisville Lake in Lewisville, Texas, prompting authorities to detonate the device after clearing the area. Mike Reiter pulled the explosive from the water during a recent outing and called first responders to the scene.

Reiter was wading waist-deep through the lake using a metal detector when he picked up a strong signal and began digging the object out with a metal scoop. "Big signal in the water. I start kicking it into my metal scoop," Reiter said. "And when I pulled up, that's when I saw the pipe bomb."

Reiter brought the device to shore and contacted authorities. Police and fire crews responded and confirmed the device was an explosive. A bomb squad was brought in to safely detonate it after officers cleared the surrounding area.

"You felt the concussion through your whole body. Just BOOM!" Reiter said. He also told first responders, "Angry is an understatement," and questioned why a device had been left in a public area, saying, "Why the heck are there bombs in a park?"

Reiter described finding the device as "a top-three scariest moment in my life" and confirmed his certainty about what he had recovered: "It's 100% a pipe bomb."

Pipe bombs are prohibited under federal law regardless of intent. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives classifies pipe bombs as illegal improvised explosive devices. The manufacture or possession of such devices requires a federal license that recreational fishers would not hold.