On Monday, April 15, the Soledad Police Department answered the call of a possible bomb in the bed of a nearby truck while responding to a call for service. Officers responded and located what appeared to be unexploded 105 mm Howitzer rounds also known as a military ordnance.
Soledad PD was advised that the ordnance was found buried in a nearby field, and the person picked up the box, put it in their truck, and brought it home. The ordnance appeared old, highly corroded and appeared unstable. Officers shut down the surrounding streets and evacuated nearby residents. The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad arrived on scene and confirmed it was military ordnance.
The Explosive Ordnance Team (EOT) from Vandenberg Air Base respond and determined the ordnance, with fuses attached were very old practice rounds that had already been fired. The EOT confiscated the ordinance took it to their base to be destroyed.
Soledad PD would like to remind the public that if you stumble across something that looks like it might be a military ordnance, do not pick it up or move it, as it can be potentially lethal. Something as dangerous as recovered ordnance can be deadly up to 150 feet or more. Call 911 immediately.
