Explosive rocket discovered in Salinas home has been disposed; Sheriff’s Office

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) -- The Monterey County Sheriff's Office announced Monday that their Explosive Ordnance Unit was called out on September 28 around 4:45 p.m. after reports of a High Explosive Anti-Tank Rocket was found in a Salinas home.

The Sheriff's Office said that Salinas Police were tipped off about a possible mortar inside of a home on the 500 block of Capitol Street. As a precaution, police said that they evacuated neighbors and called in a bomb technician who identified the device as a High Explosive Anti-Tank (H.E.A.T.) rocket.

According to the Sheriff's Office, bomb technicians used sophisticated equipment to determine that the device had hazardous characteristics before conducting a "render-safe" and disposing the rocket.

Around 9:20 p.m. that night, deputies say that the device was rendered safe and residents allowed to return to their homes.

The person who called in the explosive, confirmed to police that the previous home owner was a retired military serviceman and had since passed away. Sheriff's say the person also confirmed the man collected military artifacts.

Deputies say that as a precaution, the rest of the home was searched with no other hazardous materials found.