A bomb scare at the University of Southern California (USC) campus on Friday afternoon concluded with the Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad deeming a discovered military ordnance, initially thought to be a grenade, inert. The LAPD responded to reports of the ordnance around 1 p.m. in a storage area in the 3600 block of McClintock Avenue. The item prompted a temporary lockdown of the Downey Way Parking Structure at USC, CBS News Los Angeles reported. Following inspection, police confirmed the device did not pose a threat to the public.
According to FOXLA, the discovery comes in the wake of a recent and deadly incident involving a grenade detonation that killed three deputies. After a grenade went off on July 18th, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department announced that a second grenade remained unaccounted for, raising concerns amidst this discovery at USC. Found in a garage storage, the item prompted access to the parking structure to be temporarily restricted while evaluation was underway.
The university issued an alert on social media shortly after 1 p.m. on Friday, stating that access to the parking structure would be temporarily restricted. Access was fully restored after 2:30 p.m. once the LAPD determined the suspicious item was inert. "LAPD determined suspected hazardous materials were inert," the school later posted, as KTLA highlights. This incident echoed alarm following the recent death of three deputies caused by a grenade they believed was safe.
It should be noted that earlier in the week, a similar scare occurred in Rosemead, where a World War II ordnance was discovered. Crews safely removed that device, which was relayed by the Los Angeles Police Department, providing a silver lining to a tense series of events related to military ordnances in Los Angeles County. The repeat discovery of such military relics on civilian grounds has prompted a careful reassessment of how ordnance is stored and handled, especially considering the tragic loss experienced by the Sheriff's Department.
