NEAR LA BLANCA – CHANNEL 5 NEWS photographers never know which story will make it on air, as well as the characters they’ll meet while covering news.  

Photojournalist Jennifer Galvan came across Benito Carriaga, a chemical specialist who served in the Army in the 1960s.

Last week, CHANNEL 5 NEWS received a tip from a viewer about the McAllen bomb squad at a residence.

When we arrived, we discovered the bomb squad had been called by Carriaga and his family due to an artillery shell he had acquired from a friend more than 30 years ago.

“He brought it up here and he said, ‘You want it Benny? You want it?’ I said, ‘OK, let me have it and I’ll see what I can do with it,’” he said.

The bomb squad scanned the shell and determined they would dispose of it properly.

“I never worried about it,” he said.

Carriaga is an example of some of the great people and stories our photographers and reporters get to encounter but don’t always make it on air.