(2:07 am): Ok, so more bloggers are picking up the story now. Blogs of War, Sister Toldjah, The Jawa Report, Flopping Aces, and Nice Deb, just to name a few.

Initial reports had said the vehicle was a van, but WCBD in Charleston has this picture:

and reports:

The FBI says there is no immediate threat. The feds are working with state and local law enforcement in Goose Creek after Berkeley County deputies found explosives in a vehicle Saturday night.

Agents deployed a robot and pulled what looks like a duffle bag from the trunk.

According to the Berkeley County Sheriff’s department, deputies closed Highway 176 after finding what they thought were explosives in the trunk of a car at about 6:00 Saturday night.

And this little interesting tidbit:

Lombardo also said information from an investigation in another jurisdiction raised the suspicions of the deputies.

I had mentioned earlier about the naval station and military prison in the area. A commenter at Hot Air also says there’s a brand new bridge “spanning the Cooper River” in Charleston. I’m also interested in knowing why this incident sparked such interest with officials:

By 11:20 p.m., there were more than a dozen police cars, fire trucks, and an ambulance surrounding a gray sedan. A bomb squad robot was looking into the trunk of the car, and the passenger’s door was open. The Red Cross had also arrived on the scene.

At 11:45 p.m., Julie Johnson, assistant special agent-in-charge, FBI-Columbia, told reporters amassed at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses that she would answer no questions, but that the FBI was still trying to determine if a crime had been committed.

She said the agency was working with state and local agencies, and that they were going to be there a long time.

If the Red Cross was there, I’d assume they knew they’d be in for a long night. Ace isn’t about to oversell it, and neither am I. This whole thing could turn out to be nothing, but the FBI’s still on the scene, and they haven’t given the all clear almost 8 hours later.

And one of my favorite blogs, Pal2Pal, has a little information on the area:

My husband spent the last three years of his Navy career stationed at the Naval Weapons Station, located in Goose Creek, South Carolina. He was the Dockmaster on the floating drydock, USS Alamogordo. The Gordo’s main purpose was to dock our nuclear submarines for repairs. The weapons station was often closed to civilian traffic as they moved nukes and ordinance to and from ships with Marine guards on orders to shoot to kill.

That highway, 176, leads straight to the base. Here’s a map.

I certainly hope this turns out to be a false alarm, but obviously something was suspicious.

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(1:07 am): USA Today mentions a potential target:

Goose Creek is home to the Naval Weapons Station and the U.S. Naval Consolidated Brig, a military prison where enemy combatants have been held.

Now, the report says a bomb was found in the vehicle. Police apparently also found other strange objects in the van. I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out the FBI says it isn’t a bomb, but there must’ve been some reason as to why they brought out the robot and the feds responded.

The FBI is on the scene, the highway is still closed, but the FBI is saying there’s “no immediate threat”.

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(12:08 am): Dan Riehl is also following. WIS10 has a vague timeline of events:

WIS News 10’s sister station in Charleston, WCBD, reports authorities pulled over a suspicious car at around 6:00pm Saturday. Officers asked to search the vehicles, and discovered what investigators say are “possible explosives” located in the trunk.

Once federal agents were brought in and analyzed the situation, an FBI-controlled robot pulled a bag filled with the suspicious items from the vehicle.

The two men inside the vehicle, which is reported to have Florida tags, have been detained at the scene.

WIS News 10 talked to an FBI spokesperson who told us she could neither confirm or deny a possible link between the vehicle and a terrorist plot.

Pajamas Media doesn’t have any updates yet, but that’s understandable since I can barely find anything across the wires.

Michelle Malkin has few details, so I’m not the only one not able to find much, yet.

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ABC News 4 Charleston reports:

Goose Creek - Berkeley County police pulled over a light colored van in a routine traffic stop near Meyers Road and Highway 1-76 around 6 p.m. The van with Florida tags was driven by two men of Middle Eastern descent. Inside the vehicle police found explosives. Highway 1-76 near Goose Creek has since been shut down. In addition to the FBI (website) , authorities from Goose Creek, Berkeley County, and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division are on scene. The Charleston County bomb squad has also been called.

Emphasis mine. Scroll for updates.

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UPDATES:

(10:50 pm): Patrick Archibald is in the area, and says Highway 176 is blocked off.