SAN ANTONIO — A loud explosion rocked the Boerne community over the weekend.
Authorities with the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office said they found evidence of a homemade improvised explosive device in a parking lot near Boerne Lake, after being called to a property off Cibolo Creek Road around 11:30 a.m. Saturday. That property is the now-shuttered Random Beer Garden.
Neighbors said via social media the explosion was so loud that it sounded like a canon going off.
According to authorities, a man had ignited a homemade explosive device. No injuries were reported by deputies.
The San Antonio Police Department’s bomb squad assisted in an ensuing investigation and found no other explosives in the area, determining the public wasn’t in danger.
Dispatch records show witnesses saw a white van leave the property shortly after the blast. A few hours later, KCSO deputies caught up with the man allegedly responsible for setting off the explosives, identified by authorities as 56-year-old Michael Smith.
Officials said Smith told investigators he was getting rid of some leftover black gunpowder, putting it in a stack of tires and setting it off.
Authorities said Smith is a groundskeeper on the property.
Although the explosion could be beard throughout the area, officials said the explosion didn’t even damage the tires.
KCSO said the incident is still under investigation, but they believe Smith wasn’t trying to hurt anyone, nor damage any property.
Smith was arrested and charged with having prohibited weapons. His bond was set at $75,000.