Answers sought after multiple explosions

Published 2:03 pm Saturday, July 9, 2022

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Buckingham County officials are looking into explosions that took place in the past week that caught local residents off guard.

On Thursday, June 30, Red Arrow Weapons, an outdoor and sporting goods company based in Fork Union, posted a video of their visit to Buckingham that was not well received by the locals.

In the video, Clint Morgan of Classic Firearms said they were in “the middle of freaking nowhere Virginia” as he and Kip Campbell of Red Arrow Weapons filled a Prius with 330 pounds of tannerite, explosive targets used for firearms practice. The crew shot the Prius causing it to explode and leave little of the vehicle behind. This demonstration took place near Arvonia and New Canton in the Maysville district.

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“They did not reach out to the county per our county administration leadership prior to the blast,” said Jordan Miles, chairman of the Buckingham County Board of Supervisors and supervisor for the Maysville district. “Though it is not required by law per our staff, it would have been nice for the company to have notified either law enforcement or our emergency services department before the explosion took place so authorities could have notified those in that community.”

According to Miles, there are no official reports of damage caused by this explosion and other demonstrations during their time in Buckingham. However, he was told second and third-handedly about the blast shaking homes and causing damage. The comment section of the posted video also has complaints from locals about shaken homes, broken windows and frightened residents.

According to the Facebook video, Morgan said they received permission to be on the property, but forgot to let the people in the county know what they were doing.

As of July 6, Miles has reached out to Red Arrow Weapons for more information on the incident and has not heard anything in return.

“We are researching what can be done, if anything, in response to the incident,” said Miles. “We would encourage Red Arrow to be good neighbors and be conscious of the impact of such activities.”