WW2 bomb weighing 1,000 lbs unearthed at Florida airport prompting evacuations

Airport Untitled design (15)
Hernando County Sheriff’s Office / aphotostory / Shutterstock.com

A 1,000-pound bomb from the Second World War was unearthed at Florida’s Brooksville Tampa Bay Regional Airport (BKV), prompting an 800-meter radius evacuation.

The discovery was made on February 6, 2024 when construction workers were digging at a site designated for a new technical college campus.

The Hernando County Sheriff’s office said that following the discovery of the bomb, a half-mile evacuation in every direction from the site was ordered for safety.

A bomb squad from the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office was called to assess the bomb, identified as a Mark 65.. At 18:00 local time, the sheriff’s office declared the bomb to be inert. 

A team from MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa was called to properly dispose of the bomb, which was described by police to be extremely rusted and decayed.