Suspected bomb maker arrested after he accidentally shot himself, SC police say
A South Carolina man who recently called for help after accidentally shooting himself has been arrested on multiple charges after he was found with a bomb, according to the Sumter Police Department.
When he was released from a hospital in Columbia on Monday, 38-year-old Cherryvale resident Edward Lee Bick III was served arrest warrants from police and the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, according to a news release.
Bick was taken to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center where he was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession/manufacture/transport of a destructive or explosive device and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, according to the release.
Those charges were issued by police. The sheriff’s office also charged Bick with multiple counts of possession/manufacture/transport of a destructive or explosive device, police said. The sheriff’s office charges are from two separate incidents.
The multi-agency investigation began after 9:45 p.m. Feb. 28, when Bick called to report he had accidentally shot himself while in his vehicle at Veterans Memorial Park, according to the release.
As officers and first responders provided care and assessed the scene, a handgun and BB gun were visible in the vehicle, police said. What appeared to be a pipe bomb was then discovered by a detective, according to the release.
The immediate area was cleared by local law enforcement while both state and federal agencies were notified, police said. Agencies determined there was no threat to neighboring residential areas or Shaw Air Force Base, according to the release.
The following day, police along with members of the Sheriff’s Office Emergency Response Team, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and ATF searched Bick’s Copley Drive home, where additional bomb-making materials were found that were consistent with the pipe bomb discovered in his vehicle and another device discovered in November, police said.
On Nov. 7, 2025, deputies responded to a location near North Lake Cherryvale Drive after a pipe bomb was found on the property, according to the release. Investigators confirmed it was an IED and requested assistance from SLED’s Ordnance Disposal Unit and ATF.
Investigators suspected Bick might have been the bomb maker after learning of a disagreement he had with the property owner, and one of the current charges filed by the sheriff’s office stems from that November incident, police said.
Bick’s bond was denied on all charges during a Tuesday hearing, according to the release.
The Air Force Office of Special Investigations was also involved in the investigation along with police, the sheriff’s office, SLED and ATF. Despite Bick’s arrest, police said that all the agencies are working together as the investigations continue.
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