Police: Device At Mathewson's Was 'Inert 60mm Illumination Mortar Round'

Banning police have released a photo of the mortar discovered during cleanup at Mathewson's Dept. Store on Saturday, when police evacuated the San Gorgonio Ballet next door as a precaution.

They described it as "a 60 millimeter illumination mortar round" that turned out to be inert - inactive and the opposite of live explosives.

The unexploded mortar was collected by a member of the Riverside County sheriff's Hazardous Device Team.

Police were called to Mathewson's about 1:30 p.m. that day to check out what was initially described as a "suspicious device." They told people at the ballet to evacuate about 50 minutes later.

"We had an open call for dancers to audition for our repertoire performance in May in Palm Springs," Julia Olsen-Rodriguez, owner and artistic director for the ballet, said in an interview Saturday outside her business. "The audition was at 2:30 p.m. and about 10 minutes before that a police officer came to the door.

"He told us we had to leave," Olsen-Rodriguez said. "He said 'There's a possible bomb threat going on next door at Mathewson's.' "

The object found in a back room of Mathewson's looked similar to a mortar, but it could also be a paperweight or some other harmless item, Banning police Officer Rick Youngblood said Saturday afternoon.

Youngblood took a photo of the object and sent it to a specialist with the Riverside County Sheriff's bomb squad, Youngblood said just after 3 p.m.

A Riverside County deputy with a utility truck responded to assist. By 3:45 p.m., Banning police and the deputy had departed.

Mathewson's, a decades-old store packed with aging merchandise, was red-tagged in January by Banning code enforcement because the roof was in danger of collapse.

Volunteers and family members of 88-year-old Amos "Bud" Mathewson sold off used merchandise from the store on March 5 to help raise funds for "whatever Bud needs."

Until the building was red-tagged, Mathewson lived on the premises. More recently he was staying in a local rest home, according to family and friends.