“As if a bomb exploded. The whole house shook.” Extremely loud bangs have kept a village in a mystery for weeks. The bangs could be heard up to 10 kilometers around. “It scares us,” it sounds. The police did manage to unravel the mystery.
Mullica Township is located in the US state of New Jersey and has just over 6,000 inhabitants. They live in a gigantic area of about 150 square kilometers. In one of the villages in the region, the police have received dozens of bizarre calls in recent months.
“Oh my God, a very loud bang,” a woman called in a panic. “The house was shaken.” In another phone call to the emergency services, it went like this. “A gigantic explosion, close to here,” said a man. “It sounds like a bomb dropped from a plane.”
The police faced a mystery and launched an investigation. They went looking for tips via a call on social media. TV channels also moved to the village. “It’s haunting your mind,” resident Dan Benevento told NBC. “Could we be attacked? It’s that bright.”
Sound barrier?
After the police call, dozens of testimonials surfaced. However, some people thought that the bangs came from planes that went through the sound barrier. However, it turned out to be something completely different.
Thanks to the tips, the police managed to demarcate better the area from which the noise originated. Eventually, they ended up with a do-it-yourselfer with a vineyard.
“This is really fantastic,” says Rob Butkowski (34) of his homemade device, which is angled up towards the sky. “It makes the loudest noise ever.” The man claims his invention doesn’t just keep birds away from his grapes. According to him, you can also shatter clouds with it.
“Boredom due to corona”
Butkowski put together his 5-meter cannon himself “against the boredom caused by the corona pandemic”. He looked up information online and used a propane tank that he fills with a mixture of acetylene and oxygen. He says it can create an explosion that can even keep the cold weather at bay. “You can see the clouds split apart,” it sounds.
According to Police Commissioner Kevin Friel, the homemade cannon is entirely legal. “It doesn’t fire projectiles, and it’s not a firearm or an explosive. It only uses gas.” The policeman says he has no plans to stop Butkowski if he does not disturb the evening rest – after 10 p.m. with his cannon.
Butkowski himself does not want to stop. “As long as it is legal, I will continue,” he says. Neighbors hope that the police will put a stop to this. “Every time it goes off, it scares me to death,” said Shawn Guevara, who lives nearby. “It scares us.”
