Merced Bomb Squad called after suspicious device found in garage

The Merced Police Bomb Squad was called out to a residence after a suspicious device was discovered in a garage Tuesday afternoon, according to police.

Merced Police Sgt. Dan Dabney said a caretaker discovered an old artillery shell, commonly associated with a tank, inside the garage of a home in the 3300 block of Pierre Court. Police recovered the device and will dispose of it properly after it was determined the device was not completely safe, according to Dabney.

“What we often see is a lot of our old World War II veterans have a lot of devices that they bring home as souvenirs,” Dabney said. “A lot them have been rendered safe, however they forget one particular area of that device. And so we often see that it is still active and so that’s why we have to respond out and take care of them.”

According to authorities, everyone in the area was evacuated appropriately to ensure safety.

This story was originally published October 23, 2018 at 6:09 PM.