A midweek construction job in New Orleans East briefly turned into a blast-from-the-past scare when workers gutting an abandoned house on Dorchester Street came across what looked like a Civil War-era projectile on Wednesday, triggering a short evacuation while police checked it out, as reported by the WDSU.
Officers with the New Orleans Police Department's Special Operations Division were called to the property after the gutting crew reported the suspicious find. The specialized unit examined the device, then ultimately determined it was inert and cleared the scene, allowing the evacuation to be lifted, according to WDSU.
Why Old Munitions Still Make People Nervous
Even when they look ancient and weathered, artillery shells and fuzed cannonballs can still hide explosive components, so authorities treat anything that appears to be ordnance as potentially live. The National Park Service urges the public to use a three-step approach, "Recognize, Retreat, Report," and specifically warns people not to touch or move suspicious items, according to the National Park Service.
How Finds Like This Usually Play Out
Across the country, archaeologists and metal-detector hobbyists occasionally dig up Civil War-era rounds that end up requiring bomb squads to evaluate and remove them, as reported by Popular Mechanics. For neighbors on Dorchester Street, though, Wednesday's discovery turned out to be more of a history lesson than a hazard, with the concern fading quickly once NOPD confirmed the device posed no risk, per WDSU.
