Arrest Made: Weapon of Mass Destruction Found

Beaufort County, North Carolina:

For THOSE concerned and uneducated minds: A weapon of mass destruction is a biological, chemical, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill or significantly harm many people or cause great damage to artificial structures, natural structures, or the biosphere. The scope and usage of the term has evolved and been disputed, often signifying more politically than technically. Originally coined in reference to aerial bombing with chemical explosives during World War II, it has later come to refer to large-scale weaponry of warfare-related technologies, such as biological, chemical, radiological, or nuclear warfare.

A suspect in the Washington Shopping Center incident has been identified.

The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office has arrested and charged one, 40-year-old Cameron Lee Smith of Washington, North Carolina.

40-year-old Cameron Lee SmithPhoto byBeaufort County Sheriff's Office

Cameron Lee Smith was arrested on possession of a weapon of mass destruction, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, and carrying a concealed gun.

Smith was arrested in the parking lot of Food Lion, at the Washington Corners Shopping Center, off John Small Avenue.

An investigator with the Sheriff's Office found Smith slumped over in a vehicle, observing drug paraphernalia in plain sight, according to the officer report.

Upon further inspection, the investigator found two homemade grenades. One grenade appeared to be military-style made of putty and ball-bearing material that is similar to what is used in BB guns.

A second grenade with a clacker, or switch was found and resembled those used in World War I and II, Beaufort County Sheriff Scott Hammond described.

Smith is confined in the Beaufort County Detention Center, under no bond.