23-pound armor-piercing round, meant to destroy tanks, found on NC beach after Florence

Multiple World War II armor-piercing projectiles, bullets and piles of shrapnel were found lodged in the sand at Topsail Island over the weekend, according to a Facebook post by a North Carolina volunteer firefighter.

Bradley Thomas Dixon, who owns property on the island, told the Charlotte Observer he made the discoveries with a metal detector, while searching for items that may have been exposed by Hurricane Florence.

The weaponry has been examined by an explosives expert and The Topsail Online Gazette reports the armor-piercing projectiles were not in danger of exploding. However, “everybody is urged to use caution if on Topsail Island … lots of debris still being recovered and cleaned up,” said the Gazette on Facebook.

The list of finds included a 40 mm projectile, 90 mm anti-tank round, piles of shrapnel from detonated incendiary rounds and .50 caliber machine gun rounds, Dixon posted on Facebook.