Man arrested after pipe bomb found in Sumter

Edward Lee Bick III was arrested after a pipe bomb was found in Sumter, said police. (Photo: Sumter Police Department)

SUMTER, S.C. (WOLO)–Deputies with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office responded to an unintentional, self-inflicted gunshot wound which they say led to the discovery of an incendiary device.
Sumter Police, and the county sheriff’s office warrants were served on Monday, after the suspect, Edward Lee Bick III, 38, of Cherryvale, was released from a Columbia hospital.
Bick was charged by the Sumter PD 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.
He also faces a possession/manufacture/transport of a destructive or explosive device charge by the Sumter Co. Sheriff’s Office.
The charge stems from a February 28, 2026, incident, and a previous encounter in November.
Law enforcement say bond on all charges were denied during a Tuesday morning, March 10, hearing.
Other agencies were also involved in the investigation.

The multi-agency investigation began after 9:45 p.m. on Feb. 28 when Bick called to report he had accidentally shot himself while in his vehicle at Veterans Memorial Park.
When officers responded to the call, a handgun and a BB gun were visible in the vehicle, along with what appeared to be a pipe bomb.
The following day, members of the sheriff’s office Emergency Response Team, Sumter PD, SLED, and ATF executed a search warrant at Bick’s home on Copley Drive, where additional bomb-making materials were found.
The materials were consistent with the pipe bomb discovered in his vehicle and another device discovered in November 2025 when deputies responded to a location near North Lake Cherryvale Drive after a pipe bomb was found on the property, according to law enforcement.
Investigators confirmed it was an IED and requested assistance from SLED’s Ordnance Disposal Unit and ATF.
Investigators think Bick may have been the bomb maker after learning of a disagreement he had with the property owner.

Bick was taken to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center.