Just before 11 a.m., firefighters were dispatched to Raleigh Metals Processors on Garner Road in Raleigh. A bomb squad was also dispatched to the scene.
Owner Greg Brown, says workers were compacting ammunition when a live shell exploded, injuring one person.
Two men were transported to WakeMed. Isai Bravo Santiago, 33, and Adrian Bravo, 27, both of Raleigh, did not sustain life-threatening injuries.
Authorities decided to evacuate residents of a nearby apartment complex Tuesday night.
"It was determined that military ordnance was involved in the explosion that took place this morning," Raleigh Police spokesperson Jim Shugrue said.
Residents of the Biltmore Court Apartments were evacuated because pieces of an additional unexploded ordinance were discovered.
The Raleigh Police Department contacted Ft. Bragg, the nearest military installation that specializes in dealing with explosives.
"It has been determined that the safest thing to do is destroy the unexploded ordnance on site," Shugrue said.
Anyone near Raleigh Metals Processors can expect to hear multiple loud booms throughout Tuesday night as pieces of the ordnance are destroyed.
"That work will be handled by the Fort Bragg EOD team," Shugrue said. The team is expert in handling these types of situations.
Residents in a one-mile radius will be notified of the noises.
"As a precautionary measure, we have sent an automated phone message out a one-mile radius around the site just to inform people about the noises, the booms that they're likely to hear as the night goes on and to let them know what those are," Shugrue said.
It's only necessary to evacuate the immediate area. The exact number of evacuees is not known and they will probably be taken to hotels in the area.
Explosions are not expected before 9 p.m. According to Shugrue, there are multiple unexploded ordnances on the Raleigh Metals property.
Authorities are investigating how the ordnances arrived at the site.
Shugrue said residents can expect to return to their apartments after all of the pieces of the ordnance are destroyed. It is not known how long that will be.
