1 in custody after bomb threat prompts evacuations near Lake Wylie

YORK COUNTY, S.C. — Families are back in their homes hours after a bomb squad evacuated about 70 people from an apartment complex Sunday morning.

Todd Bruce Bentley, 57, of Clover, is in custody and facing several charges for the incident.

Channel 9′s Glenn Counts was told by York County deputies that it started with a vandalism call around 10:30 a.m. Sunday. Residents at the Revere at Lake Wylie apartments said someone was taping messages on cars and spray-painting hate symbols on doors and vehicles.

During the investigation, deputies found a suspicious item on a porch, which they believed was an attempt to start a fire. Deputies found Bentley’s car was also rigged with a potential device.

ALSO READ: Cornelius middle school evacuated due to bomb threat, CMS says

Counts spoke with a resident who witnessed the search.

“Well I was already out on my deck so I’ve kind of seen it from the beginning, but when they started going to my neighbor, his patio, they noticed a little contraption that when they said everybody got to evacuate so that about 11:30 12 o’clock,” the woman said.

The York County Sheriff’s Office evacuated the apartments due to the severity of the situation, they said Monday. But with help from several other agencies, sheriff’s deputies later discovered the devices were safe.

Deputies also searched Bentley’s apartment because, based on what they had learned about him so far, they were worried it was rigged with incendiaries. Authorities did not find any more suspicious devices in his apartment.

Residents were allowed back inside their homes around 6:45 p.m. Sunday.

Deputies served Bentley with warrants of second-degree arson, use/possess of a hoax device, and using a weapon of mass destruction during an act of terrorism.

(WATCH BELOW: UNC Charlotte requires course on what to do if there are threats)